View Full Version : BKK Bombings:New Year's Eve '06
Four bombs go off in Bangkok
Four explosives went off almost simultaneously in Bangkok, injuring at least 20 people as the city people have just started to celebrate the New Year's eve.
One person was dead at the Big C supermarket, Sapan Kwai branch, where witness saw a man dropped a grenade from a pedestrian bridge, police said.
At least 20 were injured at the Victory Monument when a powerful bomb went off near a bus station.
At the Klong Toei area near the Na Ranong intersection, a bomb hidden in a trash can near a Chinese spirit shrine exploded and injured two bypassers. The explosion caused a secondary explosion to a number of cooking gas cylinders that were situated nearby.
At the Seacon Square Shopping Mall, a loud explosion went off at the parking space, creating a panic but no injury.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30022983
BOMB ATTACKS REPORTED IN BANGKOK
Bangkok Post
7.11 pm
A number of bombs or grenades have exploded in Bangkok early on New Year's Eve, wounding dozens of people in at least two places.
Explosions occurred in the Klong Toey area not far from Lumpini Park, and near the Victory Monument.
The coordinated attacks are unprecedented in Bangkok.
However, political feelings have run high for more than a year, and there have been reports of political violence aimed against the military junta which ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra on Sept 19 - primarily the suspected burning of schools.
Except for the insurgency in the four southernmost provinces, there has been no deadly political violence in Thailand for more than 14 years, when a popular protest overthrew the last military government. In that case, the violence was by the government and armed forces.
Martial law was lifted in Bangkok and surrounding provinces a month ago, but the military is authorised to act when necessary.
The junta leader and army commander, Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, is currently out of Thailand, on the Haj in Saudi Arabia, and will not return to Thailand until Thursday.
Officials said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont was preparing to speak to the press and the nation.
Bangkok Post (http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=115636)
Seven Bombs Rock Bangkok, kill two
Seven explosives went off almost simultaneously in Bangkok, injuring at least 20 people as the city people have just started to celebrate the New Year's eve.
One person was dead near the Big C supermarket, Sapan Kwai branch, where witness saw a man dropped a grenade from a pedestrian bridge just over the police box.
At the Klong Toei area near the Na Ranong intersection, a bomb hidden in a trash can near a Chinese spirit shrine exploded and injured two bypassers. The explosion caused a secondary explosion to a number of cookinggas cylinders that were situated nearby.
At the Seacon Square Shopping Mall, a loud explosion went off at the parking space, creating a panic but no injury.
Authorities ordered all shoppers to evacuate the mall, one of Bangkok largest, and all shops to close down for business.
Government's spokesman Yongyuth Malyalarp urged the public to remain calm, adding that police officers have been instructed to stay on high alert, including areas where high concentration of people are expected to take part in the New Year's count down.
"Police reinforcement have been sent to various areas in the city. We urged the public to remain calm, continue with the celebration but at the same time keep a look out for any irregularities," Yongyuth said.
Another police box was hit near the Khae Rai intersection in Nonthaburi province just north of Bangkok with a bomb but not injury reported said Police spokesman Pol General Ajiravid Subarnbhesaj said.
Another bomb went off in the compound of the Tesco Lotus Supermarket at the Prachachuen branch.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/12/31/headlines/headlines_30022985.php
Seven Bombs Rock Bangkok, Kill two
Seven explosives went off almost simultaneously in Bangkok, injuring at least 20 people as the revellers were about to start celebrating the New Year's eve.
Two people were killed and 20 injured at the Victory Monument when a powerful bomb went off near a bus station at about 6.30 pm.
One person was dead near the Big C supermarket, Sapan Kwai branch, where witness saw a man dropped a grenade from a pedestrian bridge just over the police box.
At the Klong Toei area near the Na Ranong intersection, around the same time, a bomb hidden in a trash can near a Chinese spirit shrine exploded and injured two bypassers. The explosion caused a secondary explosion to a number of cookinggas cylinders that were situated nearby.
At the Seacon Square Shopping Mall, a loud explosion went off at the parking space, creating a panic but no injury.
Authorities ordered all shoppers to evacuate the mall, one of Bangkok largest, and all shops to close down for business.
Deputy Governor of Bangkok, Wallop Suwandee, announced that all the events designated for the New Year's even countdown celebration have been cancelled.
Government's spokesman Yongyuth Malyalarp urged the public to remain calm, adding that police officers have been instructed to stay on high alert, including areas where high concentration of people are expected to take part in the New Year's count down.
"Police reinforcement have been sent to various areas in the city. We urged the public to remain calm, continue with the celebration but at the same time keep a look out for any irregularities," Yongyuth said.
Another police box was hit near the Khae Rai intersection in Nonthaburi province just north of Bangkok with a bomb but not injury reported said Police spokesman Pol General Ajiravid Subarnbhesaj said.
Another bomb went off in the compound of the Tesco Lotus Supermarket at the Prachachuen branch.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/12/31/headlines/headlines_30022985.php
airlana
31-12-06, 06:51 PM
The news on these terrible events is only just being reported here in Australia
Best I refrain from commenting now. More than likely to say something I'll later regret.
GWR - many thanks for the updates. I'm sure many of us overseas appreciate them. With breaking news, Bangkok Post and Nation are often overloaded "cant display page" etc
Hope everyone at 2BKK is safe and sound
airlana
We have a photographer taking pictures at three locations right now. I imagine these will be posted on the frontpage some time later this evening: -
http://www.2bangkok.com
I'm hearing reports that bombs have been discovered in another city. It is difficult focussing on this problem when firecrackers are going off all around me. :mad:
HRH the King is making a New Year Speech on TV right now! It may have been pre-recorded.
PM asks people to avoid crowded parties
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has asked people to refrain from joining crowded new year party following at least seven bomb attacks in Bangkok.
Thai New Agency quoted Surayud as asking people wishing to join new year party on Sunday night to avoid crowded areas.
The premier has ordered all security officers; police and soldiers, to reinforce in many areas in Bangkok. He ordered crime scene inspectors to collect all evidences from the attack scenes in order to know which groups mastermind the attacks.
Seven explosives went off almost simultaneously in Bangkok, killing three and injuring at least 20 people, as the revellers were about to start celebrating the New Year's eve.
Two people were killed and 20 injured at the Victory Monument when a powerful bomb went off near a bus station at about 6.30 pm. The bomb ripped through the bus stops, shattered windows at the nearby restaurant and sending debris in all directions.
At least one person was killed near the Klong Toei area near the Na Ranong intersection, around the same time, a bomb hidden in a trash can near a Chinese spirit shrine exploded and injured three pedestrians. The explosion caused a secondary explosion to a number of cookinggas cylinders that were situated nearby.
One person was seriously injured near the Big C supermarket at the Sapan Kwai branch where witnesses saw a man dropped a grenade from a pedestrian bridge onto the police box. Residue of C4 and TNT were found at the scene, an iTV reporter said, quoting an unnamed military source.
At the Seacon Square Shopping Mall, a loud explosion went off at the parking space, creating a panic but no injury. Authorities ordered all shoppers, about 10,000 at the time, to evacuate the mall, one of Bangkok largest, and all shops to close down for business.
A police box at the entrance of Sukhumvit Road, Soi 62 was also hit with a bomb. No injury was reported.
Another police box was hit near the Khae Rai intersection in Nonthaburi province just north of Bangkok with a bomb but not injury reported said Police spokesman Pol General Ajiravid Subarnbhesaj said.
A bomb went off in the compound of the Tesco Lotus Supermarket at the Prachachuen branch.
Soldiers were dispatched to some of the sites where the bombs went off, while other major shopping complex, including the Central Chidlom and Siam Paragon department stores, closed its door earlier.
Deputy Governor of Bangkok, Wallop Suwandee, announced that all the events designated for the New Year's even countdown celebration have been cancelled.
Government's spokesman Yongyuth Malyalarp urged the public to remain calm, adding that police officers have been instructed to stay on high alert, including areas where high concentration of people are expected to take part in the New Year's count down.
"Police reinforcement have been sent to various areas in the city. We urged the public to remain calm, continue with the celebration but at the same time keep a look out for any irregularities," Yongyuth said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/12/31/headlines/headlines_30022985.php
Major department stores in Bangkok closed now
Major department stores in Bangkok, including Siam Paragon, Emporium, Central and The Mall have already closed following seven bomb attacks.
Usually, they stay open until midnight but by 8 pm, they were all closed.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30022989
Old power clique suspected of being behind Bangkok bomb attacks: source
A security source at the Government House said the old power clique was behind the simultaneous bomb attacks in Bangkok.
The source from an intelligence agency said the intelligence agencies had learnt about the plan of the old clique to create disturbance toward the yearend.
The source said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont was on the standby in Bangkok because he expected the attacks.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30022988
TRT denies masterminding bombs
The Thai Rak Thai Party was not behind the series of bombs that rocked Bangkok last night, said the party deputy speaker Chatuphon Promphan.
Chatuporn warned the Council for National Security (CNS) not to prematurely point fingers at the party, whose administration was ousted by the coup makers on September 19.
"We urge the CNS to speedily find out the facts before any misunderstanding is widely spread," Chatuporn said a few hours after the first blasts.
"The bombs can be looked at from different angles and a political cause is just one of them. It could also be seen as a challenge to the CNS and could stem from the spread of the conflict in the three southernmost provinces."
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30022991
Revellers at Central World ordered to disperse
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayothin went up on the stage at the Central World Plaza at about 8:50 pm and asked the revellers to disperse.
They dispersed after paying respect to His Majesty the King.
People were seen on Channel 6 to disperse calmly.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30022992
Sonthi orders deployment of soldiers to step up security in Bangkok
Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin ordered the first army area commander to deploy soldiers to help police step security in Bangkok following a series of bomb attacks in the capital.
Army Assistant Commander-in-Chief Gen Anupong Paojinda said the soldiers would be deployed to various spots and bomb experts of the army had been ordered to be on stand by.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30022993
crowbait
31-12-06, 08:25 PM
Terrible news!! My sympathies to all involved.........................one does have to be thankful that the injuries and loss of life so far, haven't been even worse!
Thanks GWR for the prompt and dispassionate reportage.................a brilliant series of posts.
Yes, terrible!
There is some doubt about the death toll. Two definite. Perhaps three. The injuries may have reached 30, although Channel 7 just listed 16 names.
Thanks for your contributions etc.
I'm no fan of the New Year celebrations. When bombs are going off and policemen are thoroughly occupied, it would be sensible for people to stop letting off firecrackers. This is an area that has known several bomb attacks in recent years. That said, a high percentage are too pissed to comply. In the middle of these posts, there was an argument outside my house because some folk had finally had enough of the stupidity. But you complain at further peril to yourself.
I should also tell you that admin is having a fairly difficult time getting the photos frontpage because of continuing internet problems in the region: -
http://www.2bangkok.com
There have also been sketchy reports of bombs having been found in Hat-Yai. But please note that these rumors have happened before, and nothing was found. We believe that it is due to people hearing partial media reports and immediately assuming that the bombs are in Hat-Yai. Suffice it to say that the chances of such attacks here remain quite strong, and the authorities have made this known during the last few weeks.
14 victims at Rajvithi Hospital
Songkran Kanchana, killed
Samruay Srida, seriously injured
Pornrat Puntaeng
Pornsiri Karaket
Saharat Chuaduangphui
Niporn Thongsri
Somwang Witthayacharoen
Yosphat Muangpao
Natthicha Yamkrathok
Suparp Piriom
Ooranuj Neraphu
Wilasinee Thian-on
The rest of the victims at this hospital have yet to be identified
Seven victims at Chulalongkorn Hospital
Suwitchai Nakiam, killed
Khamphan Arjyotha, 34, seriously injured
Bai Wongsa, 21
Thasinee Mungkornphan, 12
Kamchad Dessaeng, 31
Arissara Tordok, 27
Khamdee Maneesaeng, 40
The rest of victims at this hospital have yet to be identified.
crowbait
31-12-06, 09:21 PM
What a tragedy....................so many young people injured.
airlana
31-12-06, 09:29 PM
I should also tell you that admin is having a fairly difficult time getting the photos frontpage because of continuing internet problems in the region
Apart from internet problems I'd imagine the traffic in Bangkok is nothing short of horrendous.
A big thank you to all at 2BKK for a superb job in getting the news and photos so quickly. Its truly appreciated by those like me so far away. I'm sure all involved would rather be with their families this evening than covering these tragic events.
airlana
CNS may seize Thaksin's assets following bomb attacks: source
A security source said the Council for National Security may order the seizure of assets of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to cut money supply for financing disturbance in the country.
The source said the CNS believed Thaksin was behind the series of seven bomb attacks in Bangkok Sunday evening.
The source said the CNS noted many bombs were launched at police booths but none of police officers were injured.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023003
But no comment here: -
Surayud visits bomb victims at Rajvithi
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont visited bomb victims at the Rajavithi Hospital at 9:50 pm.
Surayud who appeared under tension said he did not know yet who the masterminds of the bomb attacks were.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023005
Interior Ministry to hold urgent meeting of provincial governors
The Interior Ministry will hold an urgent meeting with provincial governors nationwide through a video conference at 11 pm.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023006
The Bangkok Transit System (BTS) 'Skytrain' has announced that it would run its services until midnight only, instead of 'till dawn as originally planned.
Surayud hold meeting at ISOC
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont went to the Internal Security Operations Command at 10:43 pm to meet military officers.
Interior Minister Aree Wongsearaya and First Army Area Commander Lt Gen Prayuth Janocha rushed to the ISOC to meet Surayud.
Government Spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarp also attended the meeting.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023007
On dutch TV 20,00 h, 2nd item.
________
Chrysler air raid siren history (http://www.dodge-wiki.com/wiki/Chrysler_air_raid_siren)
In Chiang Mai, the people were also asked to disperse after the organisers decided to abruptly cancel the countdown party. They said they could not risk anyone's safety. However, other provinces can decide whether their New Year parties to continue or not.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/12/31/headlines/headlines_30022990.php
I have heard of no plan to cancel the NY countdown in Hat-Yai, but it appears that many people have either decided not to attand or have come home early.
Attacks wreck NY's parties across nation
There was panic in many areas of Bangkok and in several other parts of the country last night in the wake of the coordinated six-bomb attack across the capital city.
New Year countdowns and other celebratory parties were cancelled, including two much-awaited events at CentralWorld and Sanam Luang, where people gathered briefly and dispersed after learning of the attacks.
All major stores located near CentralWorld at Rajdamri Intersection were closed following security concerns.
Security was also beefed up at a number of New Year countdown parties held in Phuket and Hat Yai district in Songkhla province. An event in Chiang Mai was called off.
Military and police officers based in Pattaya called an urgent meeting to heighten security measures at key countdown sites where a large number of Thai and foreign tourists were expected. Naval military police were dispatched around Pattaya streets to ensure extra protection - a rare and unusual sight in this seaside tourist city.
In the capital, armed soldiers in full combat gear were dispatched to provide security. Uniformed police officers at all Bangkok police precincts were mobilised and stationed at key locations.
In the inner city, all Bangkok branches of Central Department Store were closed down while all stores in Siam Centre, Siam Square and Siam Paragon did the same.
A large crowd at Big C Rajdamri went into a panic upon learning that a suitcase was found abandoned. A bomb disposal team later found that there was nothing inside.
At Seacon Square, thousands of shoppers left the compound after a bomb was found in a trash bin before it could explode.
Conflicting reports said earlier that a loud bang heard in the area was a electrical transformer exploding.
In Nonthaburi, where a bomb was set off near a police box at Khae Rai Intersection, major department stores located not far way closed early.
Military officers of Army units based in the Northeast were been instructed to stay on alert in all 19 provinces in the region, which is a key political stronghold of the Thai Rak Thai Party, formed by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Surin, Ubon Ratchathani and Udon Thani were to be monitored especially closely.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/01/headlines/headlines_30023018.php
forumadmin
31-12-06, 11:38 PM
Urgent: Two more bombs explode at Central World, Pratunam
http://nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023025
Urgent: Three more bombs explode at Central World, Pratunam
More details to follow
Urgent: Three more bombs explode at Central World, Pratunam, Khao Sarn Road
Three more bombs exploded in the heart of Bangkok once the new year started, severely injuring many foreign tourists.
The two bombs exploded nearly at the same time seconds after the New Year started and another bomb exploded about half an hour after midnight.
The first bomb exploded at a public telephone booth at the pedestrian flyover linking Central World and Kesorn Plaza. Several foreigners were injured and rushed to hospitals.
The second bomb exploded at the Best Sea Foods restaurant on the Saen Saeb Canal near the Pratunam Pier.
Two foreigners and a Thai were injured. One of the foreigner had one leg amputated by the blast.
The third bomb exploded at the Buddy Bar on Khao Sarn Road.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023025
forumadmin
31-12-06, 11:45 PM
Urgent: Three more bombs explode at Central World, Pratunam, Khao Sarn Road
Three more bombs exploded in the heart of Bangkok once the new year started, severely injuring many foreign tourists.
The two bombs exploded nearly at the same time seconds after the new year started and another bomb exploded about half an hour after midnight.
The first bomb exploded at a public telephone booth at the pedestrian flyover linking Central World and Kesorn Plaza. Several foreigners were injured and rushed to hospitals.
The second bomb exploded at the Best Sea Foods restaurant on the Saen Saeb Canal near the Pratunam Pier.
Two foreigners and a Thai were injured. One of the foreigner had one leg amputated by the blast.
The third bomb exploded at the Buddy Bar on Khao Sarn Road.
The Nation
http://nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023025
Apparently the Scandasia website has had the following post, but I haven't been able to view it yet: -
Police and military intelligence sources said that they had learned during the past month that a plan to bring bombs to explode in Bangkok was in the making when they had checked a home in Banang Satar district in Yala in the south of Thailand. They beleived it was part of a plan to place bombs in Bangkok during New Year. A map of Bangkok had been found with many places marked, including Victory Monument, Klong Toey Rama IV, Ramkhamhaeng University, Siam Paragon, Zea Rangsit, Seacon Square and Don Muang Airport being marked.
Note one report very early in the evening that PM Surayud had been on standby because he believed some kind of violent event would happen over the New Year.
http://www.scandasia.com/viewNews.php?news_id=2972
Umm! There are indications that some one might just have pulled that post.
forumadmin
01-01-07, 12:26 AM
Two more bombs explode at Central World, Pratunam
Two more bombs exploded in the heart of Bangkok once the new year started, severely injuring many foreign tourists and some Thais.
The two bombs exploded nearly at the same time seconds after the new year started.
The first bomb exploded at the Best Sea Foods restaurant on the Saen Saeb Canal near the Pratunam Pier just seconds after the New Year countdown ended.
Three foreigners and two Thais were injured. One of the foreigners had one leg amputated by the blast. The foreign tourists were having dinner at the restaurant.
Police said the bomb was hidden in a tire at the pier.
The second bomb exploded at a public telephone booth at the pedestrian flyover linking Central World and Kesorn Plaza. Several foreigners were injured and rushed to hospitals.
A suspected bomb was located at the Buddy Bar on Khao Sarn Road about half an hour after midnight and tourists were evacuated from the area.
By 1 am, police also disposed another bomb at the Lumpini Night Bazaar before it explodes.
The Nation
http://nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023025
AMRivlin
01-01-07, 02:11 AM
Tis Ashame. I certainly hope the interim Govt. can recover from these outrageous and despicable acts. This only hurts Thai people (and of course those injured).
I wish everyone safety and caution in this New Year.
I will be celebrating later this evening in downtown Los Angeles.
BMA cancels New Year alms giving
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration cancelled the New Year alms giving at Sanam Luang, which was scheduled at 6 am on Monday.
The cancellation came after two more explosion near Central World Plaza and Pratunam pier.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023027
I have to say that I'm not, as yet, convinced of the following BBC explanation. I would say the southern insurgent/terrorist/separatist groups have shown a surprising degree of organization in recent months. But one thing that these groups haven't yet developed is a mechanism for ensuring that the media are aware of the 'responsibility' for attacks; and I'm not aware that anyone has tried to claim these attacks so far.
Could this have been a convenient way to deflect inter-communal conflict on an evening when many people were under the influence? I doubt that too. The police have shown little sign of being that diplomatic in the past. And such conflict is not usually a significant problem in areas (outside the deep south) where the two religious communities interface.
One thing I wouldn't rule out completely is the possibility that these attacks are some sort of collaboration. The southern issue has always been complicated by the covert meddling of 'Bangkok' political elements. That said, the 'angry young men' who currently hold sway in the deep south have shown little interest in carrying out other people's work. Indeed, their intransigence is almost a reaction to the duplicity of their predecessors: -
Police do not believe foreign groups or militants from the Muslim south are to blame, says the BBC's Jonathan Head.
Our Bangkok correspondent says many Thais suspect the attacks were the work of opponents of the current military government, which forced Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from office in September.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6221177.stm
This map only shows the 'early' blasts: -
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42401000/gif/_42401971_thailand_bangkok.gif
[BBC]
Thai Rath reported that 4 of the bombs - at Victory Monument, Saphan Kwai, Klong Toei, and Seacon Square - were detonated by watch and not mobile phone.
Channel 11 TV reported that nails were used in the bombs.
On the other hand, do I think there are elements in the 'former clique' treacherous enough to carry out such acts. The answer is a resounding 'yes'. Indeed, one of the reasons why I have never been able to buy into the myth of its reformist intentions is precisely because it never made any real effort to avoid using the traditional political mercenaries. Sure, there were/are plenty of well-intentioned individuals, but also a significant number of the same old cynical 'guns for hire'.
Meeting fails to establish culprits of Bangkok bomb attacks: spokesman
Government Spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarp said the meeting of security and intelligence agencies at the Internal Security Operations Command head office late Sunday night failed to establish culprits behind the bomb attacks.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Surahyud Chulanont and ws participated by the chief of the National Intelligence Agency.
Yongyuth said the agencies needed more evidence to analyse the information.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023028
jpatokal
01-01-07, 08:37 AM
The large number and fairly good (but not perfect) coordination of the bomb timings indicates that this was carried out by a large, fairly well organized group -- but, with all due respect to the victims, the one thing that strikes me here is how few casualties there were. All the bombs appear to have been placed outside, which means their detonation will be largely absorbed by the air and dissipate very quickly, instead of being inside buildings (like the Bali blasts), where the explosive power is magnified by the structure and can also cause the building itself to collapse, causing yet more casualties. Either this was intentional, or more likely the bombers were just incompetent. No sign of any suicide bombers either.
crowbait
01-01-07, 09:07 AM
I fear this is going to hit tourism in Thailand hard for a while.................it won't stop us though, we shall arrive, mid Jan, come hell or high water...........We were in Manchester and in Birmingham during the IRAs "bit of fun" and don't have any real fear of random bombing (obviously, you stand a far greater chance of being involved in a car accident than being blasted by a bomb).
Two years ago we went to Phuket just after the Tsunami, it was really weird..........there were virtually no tourists..............anywhere. Thai people we spoke to were really suffering because on top of the disaster of the tsunami they were facing financial ruin because there were no tourists to sell to.
So if anyone out there is thinking of canceling their trip to Thailand because of this outrage, (unless your governments foreign office issues advice which would affect your travel insurance) I would say don't cancel - GO! You will be about as safe as you would be in London or New York etc. and you will be helping lots of ordinary Thai people stay in business.
Sorry for the rant...............just my two-pennyworth!
http://www.2bangkok.com
January 1, 2006, 0:41 - Exclusive information: One Hungarian was injured in the Victory Monument blast. Three Serbs, two English, two Thais, and one Irish were injured in the Central World Plaza/Pratuman blasts and are in the nearby Police Hospital. Three more unexploded bombs were found in the Central World Plaza area that did not go off.
Comment: All indications are that these events will be laid at the feet of the previous government. It was surprising to see leaks to the press so soon after the bombings citing the 'old clique' as being behind the attacks - of course, this type of accusation would also be expected to manage public perceptions that the troubles in the deep south have come to Bangkok.
In the last two weeks the coup government has been under sustained attack from accusations that PM Surayud kept rail cars at his estate and that his estate was on public land sold to him illegally. Both of these accusations have been leveled at politicians before and resonate with the public and are extremely damaging. http://207.5.19.33/forum/showthread.php?t=2112
On top of this Sonthi was accused of having two wives and has been called on to step down. The government has been coming forward in a rather amateurish way to counter these claims - holding press conferences in an even-handed way instead of going on the attack and regaining the high ground. http://207.5.19.33/forum/showthread.php?t=2114
We would expect that these bombings, coming on top of the recent attacks on Sonthi and Surayud, will be the last straw - the government has to strike back now or risk being seen as weak.
Can we expect an extension of 'Emergency Powers'?
Royal Thai Army C-in-C General Sonthi Boonyaratglin is reported to have cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia for a return to Bangkok this afternoon. Sonthi will chair a meeting of the CNS at RTA HQ later in in the afternoon.
ITV reports a grenade was lobbed into a mosque in Chiang Mai this morning, injuring four people.
Chiang-Mai Muslim spokesmen have commented several times in recent months that they feel threatened by local elements who mistakenly link them to the southern crisis. They have also pointed out their different origins.
Again, we would be wise to see indirect causes at work here until such time as the perpetrators of all these vile acts have the courage to state their real intentions. If indeed they have any!
Former PM's secretary-general Prommin Lertsuridej said he was told by the Council for National Security to report himself to the CNS Monday morning.
But, Prommin said, he informed Army Assistant Commander-in-Chief Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr that he wanted to postpone the meeting with the CNS.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023031
He is doubtless being called in to ascertain whether Thaksin has issued any denials.
Small Axe
01-01-07, 11:02 AM
Of course, it's all speculation at this point, but let's not forget the bombings that occurred over several months around the time of the PAD rallies. There was, among others, one on Wireless, one near the Ministry of Interior, and one near Prem's residence that wounded a foreign tourist. This series of bombs were more noise-makers than shrapnel-laden killers, but there were a few casualties. While it was never unambiguous, it appeared to me that those attacks aimed to intimidate Thaksin's opponents. As far as I know, no one was ever arrested or charged in those bombings; it was as if they were just part of the environment rather than serious crimes to solved. Might whoever was responsible for those bombings have decided to kick it up a notch?
Bangkok bomb death toll rises to three
The death toll of bomb explosions in Bangkok on New Year Eve rose to three when another victim died during a surgery Monday morning.
Ekkachai Ruangpoom, 26, died at the King Mongkut Hospital during an operation.
EKkachai was injured by an explosion at the Victory Monument.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023033
Thaksin denies involvement in Bangkok bomb attacks
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra Monday denied his involvement in the bomb attacks in Bangkok on New Year Eve, his legal adviser said.
Noppadol Pattama said Thaksin, who was in Bejing, expressed his sorrow over the attacks.
"He insisted that he did not even think about creating disturbance or violence so that he could return to power," Noppadol said.
"Thaksin said he is worried and feels that is unfair to link him and the old power clique for the bomb attacks."
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023040
Surayud blames old power clique behind Bangkok bomb attacks
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Monday that the old power clique was behind the bomb attacks in Bangkok on New Year Eve.
He said the southern violence had nothing to do with the Bangkok bomb attacks.
He said he was not referring only to the previous government but to all those who had lost political interest.
"So far, we cannot identify which groups were behind the attacks but we already have targets of our investigation," Surayud said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023039
Porntip says Bangkok bombs different from southern explosives
Khunying Porntip Rojanasunant, acting director of the Forensic Science Institute, said explosives used in Bangkok bombs were different from those used by Islamic insurgents in the deep South.
She said she would present details of findings by her institute before making the details public.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023037
One bomb victim at Rajvithi Hospital remains in critical situation
A doctor said a bomb victim, who was admitted to the Rajvithi Hospital, remained in critical situation Monday.
Doctor Thawee Ratanachu-ek said Samruay Sidao, 37, remained in the intensivecare unit.
He said doctors performed a surgery to re-attach his main vein in the right arm. The vein was cut by a bomb shrapnel.
Thawee said the right arm might not function fully after it heals.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023036
Mongkol visits bomb victims at Rajvithi Hospital
Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla Monday visited bomb victims who are being treated at the Rajvithi Hospital.
He visited the injured victims at noon.
He said the four injured patients might be discharged in seven days, except Narongchai Rungcharoen whose left knew suffered a severe cut on the left knee.
Mongkol said he also ordered state hospitals nationwide to be on full alert in case of untoward incidents.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023045
Government Spokesman Yongyuth Maiyalarp Monday urged the public to remain calm following Bangkok bomb attacks but sought public cooperation to alert officials over irregular things.
He said the public could alert officials at the following phone numbers:
1) PM's Office Call Centre at 1111
2) Army's Disaster Mitigation Centre at 0-2297-7648-9
3) Royal Thai Police at 191
4) Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Public Complaints Receiving Centre at 1555
ITV reports a grenade was lobbed into a mosque in Chiang Mai this morning, injuring four people.
Chiang-Mai Muslim spokesmen have commented several times in recent months that they feel threatened by local elements who mistakenly link them to the southern crisis. They have also pointed out their different origins.
Again, we would be wise to see indirect causes at work here until such time as the perpetrators of all these vile acts have the courage to state their real intentions. If indeed they have any!
This report SEEMS to indicate that the police believe the injured mosque keeper might have been involved: -
Bomb explodes inside Chiang Mai mosque
A small homemade bomb exploded inside the central mosque in Chiang Mai Monday morning, injuring the mosque keeper, police said.
The explosion at the Chang Klan Mosque happened at 8:30 pm and Nasis Ahamad, 34, was injured.
Nasis claimed that the bomb was hurled into the mosque but an bomb expert, Pol Lt Col Noppakhun Kiratikarakul, said the evidences showed that the bomb failed from Nasis himself and exploded.
Nasis had been treated and is now safe.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023030
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has indicated domestic politics rather than the Muslim insurgency was behind the multiple bomb attacks before and after the New Year's countdown.
A man injured from bomb attack was pronounced dead on Monday, becoming the third victim to have been killed in the attacks.
Surayud's broadcast comment - that people whose vested interests were affected by the September 19 coup might have been behind the attacks _ heightened speculation surrounding remnants of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's deep-rooted influence.
Surayud did not directly identify Thaksin or his allies as possible culprits. He only said those who lost power as a result of the military takeover may have been responsible.
The remark left little doubt as to who he was referring to, though. And speculation was fuelled by reports that the coup leaders were trying to summon one of Thaksin's closest aides, Prommin Lertsuridej. Prommin was known to be trying to postpone the meeting.
Sondhi Limthongkul, the key man behind the street protests against Thaksin prior to the September coup, has pointed his finger directly at the former prime minister. He was quoted in the Manager newspaper website that the bomb attacks were the latest in a series of systematic campaign to discredit the interim government and coupmakers.
The media tycoon noted that the Bangkok attacks followed a series of political assaults on the credibility and integrity of Surayud and coup leader Sonthi Bunyaratglin.
The Thai Rak Thai camp as well as Thaksin's personal lawyer have strongly denied involvement in the violence that cut short Bangkokians' New Year celebrations and dampened those elsewhere.
The eight bombs that exploded across Bangkok on New Year's Eve and early Monday also wounded 38 people, including nine foreigners.
"Based on the government's information and intelligence agencies, it was the work of people who lost power, but I cannot clearly say which group was behind it," Surayud told reporters.
He was speaking after meeting chiefs of security organisations.
"The perpetrators wanted to generate a negative political impact and make Thai people feel political instability," he said.
The blasts that rocked the capital that was gearing up to celebrate the new year forced the cancellation of New Year's celebrations in Bangkok and other major cities.
Surayud said he did not think the blasts were linked to the insurgency in the south, despite similarities between the Bangkok bombing methods and the near-daily attacks in the southernmost provinces.
"It is very unlikely that it was linked to the southern violence, because it is much easier for the insurgents to mount an attack in the three southern provinces" than to target Bangkok," he said.
"We are very sadden by what happened, because we had taken precautionary measures yet we failed to prevent this act of stabbing in the back. It could have also been an act copied from somewhere else," Surayud said.
He thanked the private sector for reacting promptly and cooperating well with the authorities, saying that helped prevent greater casualties.
Big shopping malls swiftly evacuated New Year's Eve shoppers and key New Year countdown events were cancelled.
"It could have been much worse if certain decisions hadn't been made in time," Surayud said.
Former Democrat leader Chuan Leekpai backed Sondhi's theory, saying Thaksin's network of supporters, both underground and in the government sector was more than capable of carrying out the attacks.
"There are still many people who remain loyal to Thaksin. Some are politicians and others permanent state officials. And some of these people still have power because the interim government and the Council for National Security haven't tried to change their status," Chuan said. The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/01/headlines/headlines_30023035.php
.....
There were reports the interim government might move quick to seize assets of Thaksin and his family in order to cut financial supplies to any underground element bent on creating political violence and trouble. Some anti-coup activists suspected asset seizure to be a possible motive for the military to "stage" the New Year attacks.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/01/headlines/headlines_30023035.php
I'm quite disturbed by this news but personally I do not see any correllation whatsoever between those behind the New Years eve bombings and the so called 'old power clique'. Anyway people do things for many illogical reasons.
As we dont know for sure who was behind the attack I dont think the government should come out and make a speculative statement like that.
jpatokal
01-01-07, 06:29 PM
As we dont know for sure who was behind the attack I dont think the government should come out and make a speculative statement like that.
The Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Bangkok_bombings) says one man was arrested with an unexploded bomb -- this should be a giant lead for getting on the bombers' trail?
A total of 18 Bangkok bomb victims remained in seven hospitals at 3 pm on Monday: -
Rajavithi Hospital: 5
Chulalongkorn Hospital: 5
Saint Louise Hospital: 1
Bamrungraj Hosptial: 2
Police Hospital: 2
Ramathibodi Hospital: 2
King Mongkut Hospital: 1
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn made a personal visited bomb victims at Chulalongkorn and Rajavithi Hospital this afternoon.Princess Sirindhorn gave bouquets from HM the King and the Queen to the doctors of both hospitals.
The Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Bangkok_bombings) says one man was arrested with an unexploded bomb -- this should be a giant lead for getting on the bombers' trail?
One wonders whether he would be eligible for the following if he should decide to tell what he knows: -
Chuwit offers Bt1-million reward for bomb tip-off
Erratic deputy leader of Chat Thai Party, Chuwit Kamolvisit, offered Monday a Bt1-million reward for any who helped find masterminds behind the series of bomb attacks on the New Year's eve.
Massage tycoon-turned-politician Chuwit said he offered the reward of Bt1 million for any who gave clues that led to arrest of the masterminds of the bomb attacks. However he set the condition that money would be paid only after the court ruled that he/she involved in the attack.
"I would pay immediately if the suspects are sentenced in the court for involving in the bomb attacks. The attacks have badly tarnished the country's reputations. Thailand was discredited by the incidents," Chuwit said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/01/headlines/headlines_30023059.php
Sonthi rules out second coup
Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin Monday ruled out the second coup, saying none in the army would stage it.
Sonthi was speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the Council for National Security.
"No way, I believe the Army will not do that," Sonthi said, responding a reporter's question as to whether the bomb attacks might be a precursor to a second coup.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023071
The following report is a bit wierd. What training do you need to spot a dodgy person doing something suspicious?: -
Sonthi expects more terror attacks
The chairman of the Council for National Security expects more attacks from those behind the bomb attacks in Bangkok on New Year Eve.
Speaking to reporters a press conference after a CNS meeting, CNS chairman and Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin said the CNS would hold trainings for the general members of the public so that they could help monitor against possible terror attacks and could inform the authorities in time.
He said the CNS would seek cooperation from owners of fuel stations, department stores and various factories to send their employees to receive trainings.
He said the trainings should help the people know as to whether they should alert officials about irregularities.
Sonthi said the CNS has assigned the Internal Security Operations Command to be in charge of security affairs in the country.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023072
Someone called the thread "dispassionate" in a positive sense. Well, not always! We haven't said enough about the victims of this dreadful game: -
At Phramongkutklao Hospital, the death of Ekhachai Ruepoom, 26, brought the number of fatalities to three. Ekhachai was seriously injured in the Victory Monument blast.
The other two who died on Sunday night were Songkran Kanja-na, 36, and Suwitchai Nak-iem, 61. Songkran was caught in the Victory Monument blast and Suwitchai was killed by the explosion near a Chinese spirit shrine in the Klong Toei area. He was the shrine's keeper.
His wife Srilak U-naikan yesterday picked up her husband's corpse at the Police General Hospital. The widow was in tears, urging those behind the blasts to stop the violence against innocent people.
"I don't know who did it or which faction they are from but they shouldn't have done it because it has led to a loss of life among innocent people," she said.
"Good people were killed, and most importantly the person whom I love was one of them. I would like to convey my condolences to the others who have been affected and would like the masterminds to stop what they're doing because it will only lead to more losses."
Kwanjira Kajana, a relative of Songkran yesterday came to pick up his body at Ramathibodi Hospital. She said Songkran was the single breadwinner for his family and was looking after his elderly parents in Uttradit province. His mother is paralysed.
"I would like the person who did it to stop and think about how much loss it is causing and whether some people who died had to look after others or not. Like Songkran who became a victim, he had the responsibility of caring for his parents. But he was killed without committing any wrong, so how will his family survive? Please do not do it anymore," Kwanjira said.
Kwanjira received Bt15,000 relief from the Interior Ministry and Bt10,000 from Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin for organising his funeral rite.
......
Public Health Minister Dr Mongkol na Songkhla said he was worried the bombings would create panic among the public. He ordered the Mental Health Department to open a hotline, number 1323, to provide counselling for anyone who might feel they are under pressure.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/02/national/national_30023085.php
This report SEEMS to indicate that the police believe the injured mosque keeper might have been involved: -
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023030
This report is still no clearer, but I think we owe someone the benefit of a further explanation: -
Mosque worker hurt by small explosion
A small home-made bomb exploded at a mosque in Chiang Mai's Muang district yesterday, injuring its Burmese worker, police said.
The victim was identified as Nasis Ahamad, 34, who suffered moderate injuries to his arm and hand from the explosion.
Solae Sawangsiripol, a mosque official, told police that when Nasis arrived at the masjid, he found a dark object wrapped in insulating tape. It exploded when he was about to pick it up.
He said Nasis also heard a motorcycle speeding away from the mosque shortly after the explosion.
Police said the mosque's garage and some lights at the mosque were damaged.
Lt Col Noppakhun Kiratikarnkul, a police investigator, said initial probe showed that it was likely the bomb was not thrown from outside but possibly was dropped by the victim.
The Nation
Chiang Mai
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/02/national/national_30023078.php
Former aides to Thaksin told to report to CNS
Four close aides of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra were summoned yesterday to report to the Council of National Security (CNS), junta chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said.
The four would be asked questions about the blasts on Sunday, Sonthi said.
"We are not blaming any of them for involvement in the bombings, but have called them to share their opinions and experiences," he said during a press conference shortly after he flew back from Saudi Arabia.
Former prime minister's secretary Dr Prommin Lertsuridej; former deputy prime minister Police General Chidchai Vanasatidya; former director of the National Intelligence Agency Police General Chumphol Manmai; and a senior policeman attached to the PM's Office Police Lt General Chalor Chuwong were reportedly told to report to the junta.
However, none of the four men went to the authorities yesterday. Prommin said it was an inconvenient time to see the military, so he had contacted General Saprang Kalyanamitr, the CNS deputy secretary-general and assistant Army commander, to postpone the meeting.
The others said they had yet to be contacted by the junta.
Sonthi said the junta planned to summon a number of "experienced" people for questioning.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/02/headlines/headlines_30023084.php
Chidchai & Chumphol are names to be expected here. As for the "experienced" people, I'd say Newin Chidchob springs to mind almost immediately. Newin is a mythologized heavy-risk taker with large sums of money. There are reports that some N & NE commune & village headmen have received payments in recent weeks.
Any other "experienced" spring to mind?
Tourists not deterred by travel warnings
Several foreign governments issued travel warnings for their citizens yesterday after the bombs in Bangkok on New Year's Eve, which killed three and injured 43.
Australia, Great Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States all issued travel advisories to their citizens to stay at home and avoid moving about the city. They also warned that more attacks were possible in coming days.
New Zealand's foreign ministry issued a travel warning saying there was some risk to security and recommended tourists to exercise "a high degree of caution" in Bangkok following the bombings.
The ministry on its travel safety website advised New Zealanders in Bangkok to avoid unnecessary travel within the city and said terrorist attacks may also occur elsewhere in Thailand, including tourist areas.
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also issued a travel advisory on its website, saying: "There is a possibility of further attacks in coming days. Australians are urged to avoid unnecessary travel in Bangkok.
Earlier, the United Kingdom's Foreign Office warned British travellers not to travel around Bangkok "unless absolutely necessary".
Other countries also warned their nationals via CNN broadcasts to exercise extra caution when travelling in Thailand
One wonders if they would include an advisory for the following. There must be tourists among this total: -
Road accidents over the first four days of the week-long New Year holiday have left 275 people dead and 3,067 injured, with drunk driving and speeding blamed for most of the casualties.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called a meeting yesterday to prepare an explanation to other countries about what happened.
They also distributed an English translation for embassies here of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's comments to the media, following his meeting at the Internal Security Operations Command headquarters on Sunday night.
How do you explain such things? Are you going to address any thorny questions on long-term policy mistakes? I doubt it!
Three Serbian, two British, and four Hungarian tourists were among the wounded.
Meanwhile, Tourism and Sports Minister Suvit Yodmani said he had instructed Tourism Authority of Thailand offices worldwide to explain the bombs and to formulate working plans to restore confidence in Thailand.
Ditto the above comment!
Suvit yesterday visited badly injured tourist Marina Kovassco, from Hungary, who is being treated at Bumrungrad Hospital.
Kovassco was recovering from surgery but did not have a leg amputated, as widely reported earlier. She was one of two foreigners still in hospital.
:)
Agence France-Presse reported that, while some tourists admitted to being stunned by the bombings, others said they would not let them ruin their holidays.
:)
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/02/headlines/headlines_30023094.php
Nekochan
02-01-07, 02:23 AM
I think it is early to tell the public who is the culprit. I will never rule out southern terrorists, but CDR themselves can be a prime suspect! You may recall the bomb at Prem's residence or at Sonthi's (Mr. Lim) office. There was no suspect, no arrest whatsoever. But People said Thaksin did.
Did he actually do it?
Arson in Northeastern provinces? Spray paint on royal symbols? The benefit of this is that you can prolong the Martial law as you wish. ICT has blocked 19sep.org and prachatai has been on the list.
Reason? For national security!
It is such a coincidence.
The whole point is CDR will have a blame game on someone. They can have a better grip in politics. Perhaps, the terrorists did it, but you will never know.
Just stay out of trouble!:o
Urgent: police are defusing bomb at Central Lardprao
Police have evacuated shoppers at the Central Lardprao shopping mall after a bomb was detected.
Police are trying to defuse the bomb.
More details will be updated.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023101
There is obvious confusion here and I would recommend treating both articles with skepticism. At least the article below suggests that some people are being more vigilant when they go shopping: -
Shoppers frightened by false bomb scare at Central Lardprao
A false bomb scare has created turmoil at the popular shopping mall - Cenral Lardprao Tuesday morning.
Shoppers detected that the lid of a coin box of a public telephone booth in front of the mall had been left open so they alerted police at about 11:30 am.
Police rushed to the scene and evacuated shoppers.
Bomb disposal offices checked the booth and the area for about half an hour but detected no bomb.
After the checking, shoppers were allowed to return inside the shopping mall.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023101
Thai Rak Thai demands Surayud to name culprits
The Thai Rak Thai Party Tuesday called on Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to spell out names of those the premier believes were behind the string of Bangkok bomb attacks on New Year Eve.
Thai Rak Thai spokesman Sita Divari said Surayud had unfairly caused the public to suspect the Thai Rak Thai by simply stating that "the people who lost political benefits" were behind the attacks.
Sita said Surayud's statement would also influence police investigations because police would rule out other possibilities and would focus the probe in line with Surayud's theory.
"We call on Gen Surayud to disclose the names of those behind the attacks. The way he spoke without evidence caused the people to think that he took political opportunity while the people had suffered from untoward incidents," Sita said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023106
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra Tuesday cried foul over the conclusion of the government that people who lost political benefits were behind the Bangkok bomb attacks.
In his letter faxed from Bejing, Thaksin said the government jumped into the conclusion without making any arrest.
He said the government could reach such conclusion less in 24 hours, compared with many bomb attacks in the deep South, which the government so far failed to make any arrset.
He said the government distorted the information to mislead the people and play politics with the terrifying events.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023110
This report is still no clearer, but I think we owe someone the benefit of a further explanation: -
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/02/national/national_30023078.php
Victim 'carried mosque bomb'
The bomb that exploded at a mosque in Chiang Mai on Monday was carried by the victim, the commissioner of Chiang Mai provincial police said yesterday.
Maj-General Bandop Sukonthaman alleged that Nasis Ahamad, a Burmese worker injured by the blast at Chang Klan mosque, confessed to carrying the small home-made bomb to the mosque then accidentally dropping it on the floor, causing it to explode.
However, he said police had yet to charge Nasis, who is still in hospital, with any offence.
Bandop said police still had to investigate Nasis' motive for carrying the bomb into a sacred place. Villagers living close to the mosque, however, did not accept the explanation.
Bandop said he had reported his findings to community leaders, but the people said they did not believe a Muslim would bring a bomb into a mosque.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/03/national/national_30023146.php
CNS says it not jump to conclusion on its own
The secretary-general of the Council for National Security denied Wednesday that it had jumped to conclusion that power losers were behind the string of New Year Eve bomb attacks in Bangkok.
Gen Winai Phatthiyakul, permanent secretary for Defence and CNS secretary-general, was responding to criticism of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Winai said the CNS did not make its own conclusion but the theory was based on information and evidences compiled by government agencies concerned.
CNS chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin and Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said those who lost political benefits were behind the bomb attacks. Thakin cried foul, saying he was discredited with such jumping to conclusion.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023164
This business of 'political credit' interests me a great deal. Some might say that both Thaksin and the military were working on practically zero credit even before this whole coup thing arose. But very few ordinary citizens are quite that difficult to please. One does wonder, however, if such constant attrition of public goodwill will eventually lead to some parting of ways between the general public and those who believe only they are fit to govern. Way too optimistic of course! A small but consistently active group of people feel it is their god-given prerogative to demonstrate their grasp on power through fickle behavior; and the vast majority remain remarkably tolerant of such power-crazed loutishness. tor the victims of such a cynical slugfest, the only recourse to justice amounts to little more than a few scraps of mercy from the big man's table. I doubt that this lack of redress will change in my lifetime, so it seems we are doomed to plenty more crises of this nature in the years to come.
Such rash actions really are the essence of normal political dialogue here. It all bears more than a passing resemblance to the operations of the Italian mafia, which I suppose is the inevitable result of the 'Jao Muang' system of rule lingering into the 'modern' era. Just a pity that the system seems to lack those long periods of stability that opposing mafias sometimes arrive at, in which every one knows their turf and knows better than to wander onto another. If only Thai politicians were that effective!
And now for the second terror phase. Is it bored adolescents with nothing better to do, or bored power-losers/power-gainers ditto?: -
Urgent: police checking bomb threat at Bangkok school
Teachers and students of Kingphet School on Phetchaburi Road were evacuated at noon after a bomb threat was made against the school.
Police are still checking whether the threat is real.
The Nation
This man obviously 'cares' about journalistic ethics: -
Bomb threat made against The Nation
Police are checking a bomb threat made over the phone against The Nation Wednesday afternoon.
A caller called a receptionist at 1:18 pm, saying he had planted three bombs inside The Nation's compound.
The unidentified caller said he had set the bombs to explode in three hours.
Soldiers and police from Bang Na station are checking whether there are bombs planted in the compound.
"Listen carefully, I've planted three bombs inside buildings of Nation Group. I don't want to hurt people. I want to only to inflict damages to property. So, evacuate all people now. I did this because I was dissatisfied thta Nation Group published reports damaging to Thaksin without verifying information whether Thaksin was behind the bomb attacks. Nation Group presented one-sided reports to frame Thaksin and always publish biased reports. I've timed the bomb to explode in three hours. So, evacuate people now," the caller said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023179
Note that it is 'urgent'. The Nation is a tad over the top on occasion. And usually on the wrong occasions too. One can almost picture some guy alone in the newsroom tapping this out on his keyboard while all sane people scarper.
So many bomb threats have been made, I'll just list them. The Nation threat is being treated as a hoax. Nothing was found. Schools in Bang Na and Nonthaburi also received threats. A false alarm in Yaowarat. A bomb threat is being checked out at Central World. A bomb-like object was detected inside the Major Cineplex Building, Rajayothin branch at 5:30 pm.Bomb disposal police were checking the object. One wonders if 'back to school' is a factor in some of these.
Deserted backpack creates bomb scare in front of Central World
A deserted backpack inside a public telephone booth in front of Central World created bomb scare Wednesday afternoon.
Police said a foreign tourist spotted a backpack left inside a public telephone booth so he alerted a security official of a nearby hotel. The official in turn alerted police.
Police rushed to the scene and seal off three traffic lanes on the Rajdamri road at 3 pm while bomb disposal officers checked the bag.
Police found only a clothes and towel, a pack of tobacco and a magazine inside. Police did not know who owned the bag, but suspected that it might be intentionally left them to create bomb scare.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023190
In Phitsanulok, four major shopping centres as well as the Phuthachinarat Hospital were threatened. In Kanchanaburi, there was a call to the central bus station. Hoax calls were also made to Satun's La Ngoo Hospital, Roi Et's provincial hospital and Chiang Mai's Tesco Lotus Super Centre.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police, Pol General Phinit Maneerat, revealed yesterday that there were a total of 119 calls from residents of Bangkok to the 191 emergency call since December 31 and 23 of them were related to bomb threats. The rest of them reported suspicious materials or packages left in public places.
"It is good to have more eyes to help us in our work. However, I would like to ask the public not to panic. For those who made threatening calls for fun, they could be jailed for as long as 18 months," he said.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/04/headlines/headlines_30023247.php
Komchadluek reports a parent as saying that Rajvinit School - near the Amporn Garden - had received a bomb threat this morning. This has yet to be verified.
Khon Kaen Provincial Hall today indefinitely postponed their upcoming 'One Tambon One Product Fair' for fear of "untoward incidents".
The Foreign Ministry was scheduled to brief foreign envoys, about the New Year's Eve bomb attacks, at 11 am this morning.
Air Force Commander-in-Chief ACM Chalit Pukphasuk Thursday denied that there were conflicts inside the Council for National Security, which could lead to a second coup.
Chalit, deputy chairman of the CNS, said the eight CNS members had unity and all of them share the same goal of working for the country and people.
"I think there will be no second coup," Chalit said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023257
Defence Minister Gen Boonrawd Somtas said "men in uniform" were behind the fatal New Year's Eve bombs in Bangkok.
The minister said it was "highly likely that the perpetrators are men in uniform."
"It's 90 per cent sure that it is politically motivated and only a handful of groups of people have the potential to mount these attacks," he told reporters.
He said it was unlikely that civilians would have the training to coordinate the eight small blasts across a wide urban area, and said that left "only either police or military.".
Meanwhile Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told the National Legislative Assembly Thursday that forensics tests showed the New Year's Eve bombs were not of the same type as those used by the separatists.
"Forensics tests found that the bombs were similar to those used in the south, but I can reassure you that they are not exactly the same," Surayud Chulanont told the NLA.
"That is the reason why we have concluded that the bombings had nothing to do with the south, and rather that the ill-intentioned perpetrators are in Bangkok,"he said.
Surayud said Bangkok's major transport centres would remain under heightened surveillance to prevent further attacks, but warned Thais should brace themselves for new threats.
"The public should be prepared to deal with this new kind of threat to our lives in the future," he said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/04/headlines/headlines_30023291.php
Man arrested for making false bomb alert to 191 police
A man was arrested Thursday for allegedly calling 191 police to deceive that a bomb had been planted inside the Tha Phra police station.
Prapassorn Pornsurin, 30, was arrested at his house in Bangkok's Chomthong district at noon on Thursday.
Police said Prapassorn called the 191 emergency police on Wednesday to alert that a bomb had been planted in the police station.
Police checked and found no bomb. When police checked the phone record of the 191 police division, they found that the call was made by a mobile phone number, which was registered under Prapassorn's name.
After his arrest, Prapassorn admitted that he made the call out of dissatisfaction that the coup makers had ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whom he liked, and that the interim government had stopped populist policies of Thaksin.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023284
The Bangkok-based diplomatic community expressed concerns on Thursday whether the deadly bomb blasts on New Year's Eve would affect the lifting of martial law as well as the constitution drafting process and the elections.
Seventy-two diplomats from 62 embassies and consul offices as well as 19 officials from 14 international organisations were briefed at the Foreign Ministry by Permanent Secretary Krit Garnjanagoonchorn.
Gen Saprang Kalayanimit and Gen Anupong Paochinda, Assistant Commanders in Chief of Royal Thai Army and Assistant Secretaries of Council for National Security (CNS) were also present at the briefings.
Among several questions asked by the diplomats corp was whether the bombing on Dec 31, which killed three people and injured some 40 others, would disrupt the process of the martial law cancellation.
Anupong replied that the process is still ongoing and the government did not plan to make a change on the decision it has already made, said Foreign Ministry Kitti Wasinondh at a press conference after the briefing.
Anupong also insisted that the bombings would not affect the constitution drafting process as well as the general election.
The military told the diplomats that they knew about the attack in advance but never expected it would pose huge damage, according to a diplomatic source who attended the briefing. "The military at the briefing told us they lacked of budget to enhance intelligence network so that the information was not so accurate to step up preventive measures," said the diplomat in condition of anonymity.
Another western diplomat also asked about the possibility of the linkage of the incidents to the ongoing violence in the deep south. The assistant secretary said that intelligence gathered, particularly on the type of the bombs, has shown that the link to the southern insurgency was very unlikely, said Kitti.
A diplomat who attended the briefing said the military explained to them that bomb in the deep south were more powerful than those went off in Bangkok.
Diplomats also expressed concerns over the security at the embassies, which Krit said he is ready for discussion on additional security measures at the embassies and also suggested the diplomats to contact local police office for additional personnel to provide security at the embassies.
Krit assured the diplomatic corps that the government has taken several measures, including beefing up security officials and approved the installation of surveillance cameras in several sensitive areas, to deter further attacks.
Sopaporn Kurz
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/04/headlines/headlines_30023286.php
:confused: ITV News was just interviewing Assistant Army Commander in Chief Gen Anupong Paojinda. he was denying the possibility of a second coup. [Read this thread before you completely poo-poo the idea: http://207.5.19.33/forum/showthread.php?p=12983&posted=1#post12983] But perhaps more interesting (and we don't know where this info came from), the channel was running 'News in Brief' messages across the screen linking the bombings to the work of a group of politicians who had benefited greatly from the construction of Suvarnaphumi International Airport. Wonder what's in the air tonight? Perhaps it's a case of calling a bluff in order to see if the cockroaches start scuttling off. ;)
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023284
The hoaxer has been released as his mother claims he has a lifelong mental problem. Yeah!
A schoolgirl was also arrested for hoax calls. Yes, she wanted to go home early. Yuh!
A box, which appeared to have been made to look like a bomb, was placed outside Lotus Superstore Charansanitwong branch late last night.
The box had two exposed wires on the outside and was wrapped in black insulation tape. The box contained only a small amount of white powder.
PM Surayud says more chaos to come in next two months.
I'm always left wondering by such comments (as below) whether by "ill-intended" they mean just ordinary people who wish to know exactly what is happening!? People might have gone home early, but they weren't exactly trampling each other to death in the process. Surely, folks have a right to avoid being crushed by fighting elephants. It almost seems like it's OK to incur human collateral damage to press home some political point (that in fact has a great deal more to do with greed), but it's not OK to try and find out what's going on for one's own sake and that of one's friends & relatives. Hopefully, the CNS is slowly learning that greater transparency actually helps to prevent flat-out panic. Not to mention the fact that it might also leave the population less susceptible to the first manipulative rumor that comes along: -
Coup rumours could be linked to Dec 31 bomb attacks
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said the country should be on alert as more chaos is expected within one or two months.
Surayud was speaking at a press conference after meeting with top Council of National Security members, including Gen Sonthi Bunyaratglin, Gen Winai Phattiyakul and Boonrawd Somtas at the Government House for about an hour.
"The situation could not be trusted for now. Within one or two months there could possibly be more chaos. The public should be on alert," he said without further elaboration.
Moreover he quoted Gen Sonthi as saying that the CNS will inform the public beforehand about its mobilisation and rotations of troopers so that the public would not be misinformed or panic.
More dissemination of the army activities will help prevent ill-wished people from distorting the information and disseminating rumours, Surayud said.
"Gen Sonthi promises that the public would be informed of the mobilisation and rotation of troopers so that they would not get panic or believe rumours from ill-intention people," he said.
Rumours swept the capital and the country on Thursday night after many people saw army military trucks loaded with troopers admist unconfirmed reports that some powerful and influential groups of people tried to stage coup.
The rumours forced people to go home early. Many offices told their employees to leave the office and directly go home.
The panic and rumours came as series of fatal bombings hit the capital in the New Year's Eve, killing three and injuring some 40 others.
Surayud said the rumours could be linked to the bomb attacks on December 31, 2006.
The Nation
Spokesman Kasturi makes no mention of other southern separatist groups, however: -
Pulo denies responsibility over Bangkok blasts
Separatist Patani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo) has dismissed deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's blame on it over deadly bomb in Bangkok on New Year Eve.
Kasturi Mahkota, Pulo's Foreign Affairs Chief said in a statement issued Wednesday that he has never thought of finger-pointing tactic to blame each other for the bloody incident was still practice in the civilised society.
"Especially when Mr Thaksin, who is now out of power, no sense of guilt and from afar, is baselessly blaming us, as he always did at the cost of others to win his endless conflict-of-interest nature," he said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023368
"Be they atheist Thaksin or any individuals or parties who naively judged the explosions were the work of Patani freedom fighters from the South, we invite you all to stop making myth after myth and face reality instead," Kasturi said.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/05/headlines/headlines_30023369.php
An poster who will remain anonymous on a site that will remain anonymous. Hopefully, it is not hysterical to increase the police presence. It might indicate that the CNS is about to take some action that could draw retaliatory attacks: -
Sorry to post rumors on your site, but the police are now on standby at all shopping malls in Bangkok. Seems like hysteria is breaking out over here. I just got a call five minutes ago from a friend in the know. January 05, 2007 1:46 PM
Over 20 schools in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district cancelled classes and sent home students after rumor swirled around the district that bombs had been planted in eight busy locations in the district.
The rumors created panic among the parents who rushed to the schools and asked permission to take their children home so the schools decided to cancel classes shortly after 10 am.
Direk Saeson, the director of Pak Chong School, said he received a phone call from a person, who claimed to be a parent. The caller said he had learnt that a bomb had been planted inside the Pak Chong School.
Direk said the caller also called other schools, inquiring whether there were bomb threats against the school.
Direk said police and sniffing dogs failed to detect any bomb in his school.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023373
Noppadol denies Thaksin has paid Chavalit to create disturbance
Noppadol Pattama, legal adviser of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, denied Saturday that Thaksin had paid former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh to create disturbance.
Noppadol said the allegations were rumours made to with political goal to discredit Thaksin and to create confusion in society.
He said those who made such allegations should come up with strong evidence.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023439
All Bangkok police stations on standby to deal with bomb hoaxes
The metropolitan police chief has instructed all 88 police stations in the capital to be on high alert to deal with callers who make bomb hoaxes.
Pol Col Phinit Maneerat, spokesman of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said Pol Lt Gen Wiroj Chantharangsi gave the order after the 191 emergency police was overwhelmed with calls reporting bomb threats, which turned out to be hoaxes.
Phinit said the 191 police would report the calls to respective police stations to investigate and arrest the callers.
The spokesman also warned parents to ensure that their children would not make bomb plank calls for fun as the parents would also be liable to punishment with a maximum jail term of six months and/or a maximum fine of Bt20,000.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023440
Prem: Blasts intended to unseat govt
Privy Council head insists authorities take steps to restore normalcy
The New Year bomb blasts exhibited reckless disregard for public safety and were carried out by ill-intentioned people seeking to undermine the government for self-serving gain, the chief adviser to His Majesty the King declared yesterday.
"Attacks on innocent people are most despicable acts only fanatics or the most cruel individuals could contemplate," General Prem Tinsulanonda said.
The president of the Privy Council said it was clear from the nature of the attacks that the real targets were the government and the Council for National Security.
"If you don't like the government then attack it directly," he said, condemning the attacks on innocent people as irresponsible and cowardly.
He insisted the authorities swiftly restore normalcy.
"Ill-intentioned people should be exposed for their evil, and the authorities must do everything in their power to safeguard the country and its people," he said. He referred to what he termed vested interests behind the bombings.
He made the remarks at his Nakhon Ratchasima home after welcoming New Year well-wishers led by provincial governors and senior military officers stationed in the Northeast.
Meanwhile, former supreme commander General Saiyud Kerdphol said three groups were suspected in the December 31 blasts.
One group includes those ousted from power in the September coup and seeking to destabilise the military-backed government.
Another is those in the current government who want to tighten their grip on power.
The third group is involved in the deep-South insurgency, Saiyud said.
Former Air Force leader Air Chief Marshall Arun Promthep thought the involvement of southern militants was unlikely because they had no sympathisers in Bangkok to hide them after detonating the bombs.
However, Thai Rak Thai acting leader Chaturon Chaisang accused the government of blowing suspected political violence out of proportion and triggering a climate of fear.
"Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont shows his ineptitude in communicating with the public by sounding an alarm over the possibility of more bombs in the coming two months without justification," Chaturon said.
He encouraged Surayud to speak only if he had evidence and not float negative opinions that only dampened public sentiment and hurt the economy.
He also dismissed Surayud's remarks about a link between the New Year bomb attacks and a coup rumour that circulated on Thursday.
"I heard about the rumoured second coup from senior police and military officers and don't think it is groundless speculation," he said.
The Nation
NAKHON RATCHASIMA
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/07/headlines/headlines_30023469.php
The Bangkok Pundit Blog nearly always has some insights into the muddle they call Thai Politics. However, just like the rest of us, he's probably completely lost in the byzantine bifurcations of this strange case. No disrespect intended!
I note that evidence of southern involvement in these bombings is hard to shake off completely. The arguments against are indeed very weak. Given claims that the insurgents have actually infiltrated the Thai government, just how difficult is it for them to produce bombs that appear to have someone else's signature on them. Thai intelligence networks seem to have spent so much telling the public that the insurgents really aren't all that bright that they have grown to believe their own myth. As for the idea that southern insurgents have no supporters amongst Bangkok's Muslim population, it's absolutely laughable. It might have been true in the past, but radicalization of small sectors of all Muslim communities has occurred worldwide. I don't think it's that far-fetched to suspect that the insurgents might well have carried out unclaimed bombings precisely because they wanted to create dangerous rifts in the Thai military - a very fragile grouping at the best of times!
None of the protagonists in this conflict are being evenly remotely honest with the long-suffering public. I doubt any of us bystanders will ever completely understand the labyrinth of lies 'they' have all created, and it appears that even the heavy hitters (Chavalit being a prime case in point!) have confused themselves with their own endless deceit: -
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Chavalit and his Powerful Friends
The Bangkok Post:
The attempt by Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda to heal the rift between the Council for National Security (CNS) and Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has hit a snag over a demand by the former key member of the Thai Rak Thai party that the CNS deliver an official apology to him. A source close to Gen Chavalit said yesterday he has never seen the retired general so furious, especially upon hearing that he was named ''Thaksin's lackey'' in a CNS meeting by outspoken CNS deputy secretary-general Saprang Kalayanamitr. ''How could he say that? Doesn't he realise that Gen Chavalit would come to know about it?'' the source said. The CNS should have shown some respect for Gen Chavalit, he said.
COMMENT: First, I should note the source of the article is a Bangkok Post "source" so the normal disclaimer on reliability applies. However, an article yesterday from a source close to Gen. Prem corroborates some of the information so it seems unlikely that sources from both sides can be wrong. Second, I have no doubt that Gen. Chavalit has friends in powerful places to pass on news to him. He hasn't stayed this long in the limelight because he is a no one. Third, not specifically because of this story, but Gen. Saprang as Army Commander-in-Chief would be a nightmare for the Army. He seems such a liability at the moment, but attacking Chavalit without evidence won't win any brownie points from Prem - see also this Asia Sentinel article over Saprang's role in a possible coup this week.
The article puts into context the public slinging match between Chavalit and Saprang this week.
The article continues:
Gen Prem is trying to mediate and defuse the conflict between the two parties. It was the elder statesman who had asked the CNS to telephone Gen Chavalit, who had served as army chief under Gen Prem during his days as prime minister.
Initially, Gen Prem was convinced by the CNS information that Gen Chavalit was behind the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok and Nonthaburi.
But on Thursday, he telephoned Gen Chavalit and asked him for an explanation about the accusations levelled against him on the bombings and the counter-coup rumours.
''After getting Gen Chavalit's side of the story, Gen Prem began to think differently. So he wanted both the CNS and Gen Chavalit to clear the air,'' said the source.
''Because of Gen Chavalit's seniority, the CNS members need to look at themselves in the mirror. Considering what the CNS has done to his reputation, a phone call to Gen Chavalit would not be enough. Only a deep wai to the general would do in this case,'' said the source.
''Gen Chavalit has asked people close to him not to exchange words with the CNS because he did not want the public to see any cracks in military unity,'' the source said.
Yesterday's article sourced from someone in the Prem camp says:
Gen Prem also asked if intelligence reports linking Gen Chavalit with the blasts were credible, the source said.
However, Gen Prem made it known to the CNS chairman that personally he did not believe Gen Chavalit had anything to do with the bombings.
The article continues:
The source said that Gen Chavalit has information and evidence indicating that a southern insurgent group was responsible for the blasts.
Footage from security cameras at a shopping complex showed that a man and a woman were key suspects for placing time bombs in two countdown areas. This bomb-planting pattern is commonly used by insurgent groups in the deep South.
Gen Chavalit has given several pieces of evidence to the CNS, but the CNS has discarded them all, said the source.
''They just refuse to listen and only believe that the bombings were politically motivated, and blame it on Gen Chavalit and his close circle of friends,'' the source said.
COMMENT: The mention of footage from security cameras about a man and women has also been reported in this Kom Chad Luek article (Thai language only)- more on that tomorrow.
About Chavalit having evidence that it was the southern terrorists, it appears to be at odds with with what he says in this article about him implying it was inside job, then again we now know of his anger at the CNS so his suggestion that the "CNS should examine among its ranks if it truly wanted to solve the case" might be more in regards to the CNS keeping an open mind instead of him actually thinking it was an inside job.
Posted by Bangkok Pundit at 3:02 AM
http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com/
:confused: :eek:
Asia Sentinel also has some 'source' comments on Gen. Saprang that confirm some of my worse suspicions about his 'gung ho' character: -
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=332&Itemid=31
.....
As for Thursday’s incident, sources said Saprang and company planned to oust the military-appointed government, rip up the interim charter, put Thaksin’s family under house arrest and seize their assets. They also wanted to arrest former Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, the most vocal junta critic, who also has been suggested as a suspect in the December 31 bombings.
This element of the junta believes, as Saprang said, that Sonthi and Surayud have not done enough to crack down on Thaksin loyalists, allowing them to regroup. Saprang, who is vying to replace Sonthi as army chief when the junta leader is scheduled to retire in October, wants to take a harder line. Sources said the planned coup was foiled because Saprang did not have the support of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
As Saprang, Sonthi and Surayud met for talks Thursday night, the king never responded to requests for a meeting, leading the three to strike a compromise, sources said, which would see them flexing their military might against Thaksin loyalists and others.
Whatever Thursday night’s events portend, the turbulent, opaque maneuvering of the past week makes it seem that the goal of a more democratic Thailand after Thaksin’s removal may be a pipe dream. Rather, conservative military forces appear ready to tighten their grip on power as struggles within the ranks rise to the surface, setting the stage for continued unease and potential violence. Many analysts speculate whether Sonthi, generally regarded as a professional soldier who is looking forward to retirement, can keep the armed forces unified before the October elections.
.....
Asia Sentinel also raises the gloomy spectre of this crisis allowing the return of traditional politicians who share all of Thaksin's most negative qualities; but who have none of his redeeming features: -
The strategy of those who may want Surayud to leave may just be to make his life as difficult as possible. Surayud already said he would resign if recent allegations that he illegally purchased land on a forest reserve, reportedly dredged up by Chavalit’s aides, proved to be true.
“The groups that want Surayud out may just be spreading coup rumors to increase the pressure so much that he just resigns,” said a Western diplomat who follows politics closely. “If that happens, it would be hard to find a replacement. If they get really desperate to find somebody, then these guys like Chavalit and [traditional politician] Banharn [Silpa-archa] may bizarrely come back on the scene.”
It’s hard to imagine that the coup leaders would trust Chavalit to take over the civilian government, but there is typically a fine line between friends and enemies here. For sure, Chavalit has taunted the coup leaders. He accused Saprang of “gross incompetence” for not making arrests on the bombings after claiming to know who did it.
Chavalit, though, is a consummate survivor. He remains close to retired general Prem Tinsulanonda, who heads the privy council and is widely seen as the mastermind of the coup. In desperate times, desperate measures may be called for. Chavalit also served in Thaksin first government as Deputy Prime Minister.
BangkokPundit
08-01-07, 02:44 AM
The Bangkok Pundit Blog nearly always has some insights into the muddle they call Thai Politics. However, just like the rest of us, he's probably completely lost in the byzantine bifurcations of this strange case. No disrespect intended!
None taken. Who really knows what is behind this? Some personal animosity from the past? Gen. Chavalit has been known to ruffle a few feathers himself and Gen. Saparang doesn't have that quiet and proper (riebroy) image about him.
I note that evidence of southern involvement in these bombings is hard to shake off completely. The arguments against are indeed very weak. Given claims that the insurgents have actually infiltrated the Thai government, just how difficult is it for them to produce bombs that appear to have someone else's signature on them. Thai intelligence networks seem to have spent so much telling the public that the insurgents really aren't all that bright that they have grown to believe their own myth. As for the idea that southern insurgents have no supporters amongst Bangkok's Muslim population, it's absolutely laughable. It might have been true in the past, but radicalization of small sectors of all Muslim communities has occurred worldwide. I don't think it's that far-fetched to suspect that the insurgents might well have carried out unclaimed bombings precisely because they wanted to create dangerous rifts in the Thai military - a very fragile grouping at the best of times!
None of the protagonists in this conflict are being evenly remotely honest with the long-suffering public. I doubt any of us bystanders will ever completely understand the labyrinth of lies 'they' have all created, and it appears that even the heavy hitters (Chavalit being a prime case in point!) have confused themselves with their own endless deceit:
It is not just because you quoted my blog, but I have very similar views to what you have just said. I am not completely sure it was the southern terrorists/insurgents, but the government's reasons for it not being the southern terrorists/insurgents are worse than laughable. Gen. Sonthi said they would get lost in Bangkok!
I am surprised the government has just haven't kept quiet and say they will wait until the investigation has finished before speculating on who was behind the bombings (Surayud managed to do this on 31 December and stay very circumspect). They can always leak like crazy in private. Just like many people didn't believe the car bomb assassination (or hoax if you prefer) against Thaksin, I think many will also be sceptical of the results of this investigation. I hope the investigation finds video evidence and credible witnesses.
Surayud denies planning to remove Kowit as police chief
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont denied Monday that he was planning to remove Pol Gen Kowit Wattana as the national police chief.
The Nation
Mmm! TIT! If it is not the sacking then it is manipulating a person into such a position where he is indebted to you for keeping his job and will eventually do your bidding.
The background to this statement is contained in a Bangkok Post report on January 6th (Also featured Frontpage today): -
Kowit's fate hangs in balance
PM, CNS 'dissatisfied' with him in blast wake
ANUCHA CHAROENPO, MANOP THIP-OSOD & NATTAYA CHETCHOTIROS
The fate of national police chief Kowit Wattana is on the line amid signs he is out of favour with Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and the Council for National Security (CNS) due to his performance after Bangkok and Nonthaburi were hit by the bomb blasts at New Year.
His no-show at a security meeting yesterday at Government House between Gen Surayud and key CNS leaders fuelled further speculation that his future is uncertain. Another absentee was Air Chief Marshal Chalit Pukpasuk, the air force commander and a CNS member.
The premier and the CNS were reportedly displeased with Pol Gen Kowit after eight bombs hit Bangkok and Nonthaburi on Sunday night and in the early hours of Monday morning.
The national police commissioner did not attend an emergency meeting at the Internal Security Operations Command held shortly after the blasts.
Pol Gen Kowit was in Hat Yai visiting his subordinates when the first bomb went off. He did not return immediately to the capital upon learning what had happened. Gen Surayud did not go out of his way to protect Pol Gen Kowit when asked yesterday whether the police chief should take responsibility for the blasts that killed three people and injured 42.
''I cannot make any conclusion now,'' he said. ''I have to see more reports on what went wrong ,'' the prime minister said.
Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas indicated that both those planting the bombs and officials directly responsible for security would face punishment.
Gen Boonrawd quoted the premier as saying during Monday's meeting that any agency that failed to cooperate in finding the culprits would face action too.
CNS secretary-general Winai Phattiyakul interpreted the prime minister's statement at Government House yesterday as a last chance for Pol Gen Kowit to prove himself in his position.
What the prime minister said was a ''deadline'' for the police chief, who is one of the eight CNS members.
''We are still friends. But efficiency [in the job] is another matter,'' Gen Winai told the Bangkok Post, adding the CNS minus one member was not a problem.
Pol Gen Kowit argued yesterday that police were not complacent in attempts to find the bombers and said arrests would be possible only after authorities had evidence. Officials under his responsibility were doing their best and had constantly contacted the CNS and government to tell them of progress in their investigation.
Pol Gen Kowit, who was promoted to the top job in the police by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, surprisingly survived the Sept 19 coup, while other key officials closely linked to the ousted premier were moved to inactive posts.
Three candidates tipped to succeed him if he is sacked are Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwan, his deputy, Pol Lt-Gen Seriphisut Temiyavet, an adviser to the National Police Commission, and Pol Gen Patheep Tanpraset, a police inspector.
Pol Gen Patcharawat is believed to have an edge over the other two because of his impressive performance in crime suppression, an assignment deemed important for any police officer to get the top post, police sources said. He also has the ability to work with other police generals if he is promoted, they added.
Pol Gen Seriphisut, however, received backing from a key CNS member, according to a source. ''I can get along with him,'' the source quoted the key CNS member as saying, but added that Pol Gen Seriphisut must convince others first that he is not a Thaksin supporter.
Although Pol Gen Patheep is a third candidate, the race is mainly between Pol Gen Seriphisut and Pol Gen Patcharawat, the sources said.
During yesterday's security meeting, the premier called for closer cooperation between the government, media and public to prevent future deadly incidents while the country is being plagued by rumours.
Gen Surayud believed that rumours since the blasts could be related to bomb hoax incidents because they were aimed at making people panic.
''The government is hastening to create a better understanding with the people, making them more confident in us while efforts to find more effective measures to prevent untoward incidents will continue,'' the prime minister said.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/060107_News/06Jan2007_news01.php
You will also find this Frontpage today: -
http://www.2bangkok.com
[Sonthi Limthongkul of the [I]Manager claimed in a speech on Friday night (January 5), that Kowit was in Had Yai on December 31 singing Karaoke at J.B. Hotel with many other police officers.]
What gives with the 'urgent'? Perhaps "Urgent! It's time to scarper"!: -
Urgent: Investigators have seen pictures of suspected bombers
Investigators have seen pictures of some bombers who launched bomb attacks in Bangkok on New Year's Eve, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Monday.
Surayud said Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, chairman of the Council for National Security, visited him at Government House Monday morning, to report that investigators have seen the pictures on security cameras' footages.
Surayud said police would make the arrest soon and further investigate whether the suspects were linked to any group.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023552
The explosive used in bombs at all eight sites on New Year's Eve was the same type and all were likely to have been made by the same skilled bombmakers, a senior police said Monday.
Commander of the police Office of Forensic Science, Pol Lt General Ek Angsananont, said the objects used as shrapnel, such as nails and bicycle wheel bearings, were of the same size and attached to the explosives by the same technique, he said.
The type of the explosive will be posiฌtively known by the next week after confirmation by Australian explosives experts assisting the Office in identification process.
Fingerprints were found with explosives material found at two bomb sites at Gaysorn Plaza and the Pratu Nam Pier, but they have not matched any of those belonging to criminals in police records. Initial findings show that all eights bombs had no relation or similarities in terms of assembly techฌniques with those used in the deep South by Muslim insurgents, Ek said.
Phaya Thai police have interฌviewed 19 witnesses at two bomb sites the Victory Monument and the Pier, including those 13 injured by the blast. They reportes seeing two potential bombers two male teenagers at the former site and one bomber also a male teenager at the latter site.
Video footage collected from surveillance cameras installed at both sites did not feature any sigฌnificant evidence relating to bomb attacks. Phaya Thai police chief Pol Colonel Bundit Thisaphark said he assigned both uniformed officers and those in plain cloth at crowded areas around the clock to watch out against more possible bomb attacks.
.....
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/08/headlines/headlines_30023587.php
BangkokPundit
11-01-07, 03:30 AM
From the Bangkok Post (http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/11Jan2007_news08.php):
Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh will today visit Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda in a bid to end his rift with the Council for National Security (CNS), amid speculation that his close aide will be in the new cabinet line-up, said a military source yesterday. According to the source, Gen Chavalit had agreed to end the spat out of respect for Gen Prem.
...
Gen Chavalit's planned visit to Gen Prem was described as a traditional New Year courtesy call, but it has added weight to speculation that Gen Wichit Yathip, a former deputy army chief, has been offered a seat in a new cabinet line-up expected to be announced soon.
If true, will Chavalit now stop criticising the government?
Well, in all fairness to Chavalit, he actually seems to be far more comfortable with his 'I don't know position'. He's not exactly a man of action, although he obviously knows people who are. My guess is that Chavalit HAS managed to bluster his way into the government circle yet again. May God spare us all!: -
Chavalit to meet Prem
Former Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has left his house to meet Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda Thursday morning, Nation Channel reported.
The TV station said Chavalit has left his residence and is scheduled to meet Prem at 9:30 am.
Chavalit has been suspected as being involved in rumours about a possible counter coup after he came out to criticise the government and Council for National Security on several occasions.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30023860
BANGKOK BOMBING PROBE
Some 15 military officers, civilians arrested
About 100 commando police raided 18 areas in Bangkok and other central provinces Saturday morning and detained some 15 military officers and civilians for questioning regarding the Bangkok bomb attacks on New Year's Eve.
Police sources the 15 persons were not charged yet but were detained under the martial law.
The raids in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Lop Buri, Nakhon Pathom, and Suphan Buri took place at about 6 am.
The sources said the detained persons included Lt Col Suchart Khadsungnone, an officer of the Special Warfare Command from Lop Buri and Pipop Juengluang-on, 50, the organiser of a van passenger service in Bang Bon district as well as Col Surapol Supradit.
The sources said Surapol was suspected of being the one who assembled the bombs used in launching eight attacks in Bangkok on New Year' Eve.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Saturday that he was still awaiting reports from police over the Bangkok bomb attacks.
He said he heard that police took some 10 suspects for questioning, and most of them were officials.
Police invoked the martial law, which empowered authorities to detain suspects without placing charges against them for seven days.
The suspects were taken to the Crime Suppression Division for questioning.
CSD-beat reporters witnessed the questioning and noticed that interrogators demanded the suspects to provide their alibi when a car bomb plot against former Thaksin Shinawatra was foiled late last year.
The detained military officers were also asked whether they had undergone bomb-assembling training or special warfare training.
Police also seized bank accounts and mobile phones of the suspects for checking.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/20/headlines/headlines_30024644.php
It appears that Col. Suraphol Supradit was also involved in the Thaksin Bomb Plot: -
http://207.5.19.33/forum/showthread.php?t=1835
Are there perhaps legal reasons why The Nation failed to mention this?: -
Also released were Lieutenant Thawatchai Klinchana and Colonel Surapol Supradit. Thawatchai was arrested on the morning of August 24 while driving a Daewoo sedan loaded with explosives under the Bang Plat flyover, where the vehicle was intercepted.
Surapol was alleged to be the buyer of the sedan and a key operative in the car-bomb attack. Thawatchai posted bail worth Bt500,000. He was required to report to the Bangkok Military Court on October 11. The value of Suraphol's bail was not known.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/09/30/headlines/headlines_30015051.php
Note that the name of Col. Suraphol is not in this latest report. Did someone overstep the mark by mentioning this name as one of the earlier arrested?
Instead, we get another diatribe from the General Saprang Kalayanamitr camp against the national police chief General Kowit Wattana: -
NEW YEAR'S EVE BOMBS
Military men arrested
Close aide to CNS heavyweight claims detentions are a sham
Police and the military yesterday rounded up 13 people suspected of being involved in the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok.
The suspects are both military and civilian. The raids took place at nearly 20 locations in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Lop Buri.
Pol Lt Gen Panupong Singha Na Ayuthaya said police are examining arms and other evidence confiscated from these places.
Three of the suspects were identified as Lt-Colonel Suchart Kudseung-nern and sergeants Sommai Tarabhumi and Jessadaporn Fongjamon of the Army's special warfare unit based in Lop Buri.
Police and military officers investigating the bombings also arrested Pipop Jungreung-on of Bangkok and Songdej Saengprateep of Lop Buri.
Other suspects were not identified but police and Army sources
said another three suspects were also "men in uniform" arrested at an Army camp in Bang Khaen district of in Bangkok.
The New Year's Eve bombings killed three and wounded 40 more.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont declined to comment on yesterday's arrests.
"I don't want to go into details because investigations are under way and all are suspects only," he said.
Earlier, the prime minister had said the attacks were not related to violence in the South.
Police sources said Pipop, a Bangkok mini-van operator, had been implicated in last year's plot to assassinate then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
However, a close aide to key Council for National Security member General Saprang Kalayanamitr dismissed the arrests as "pre-arranged" events to save national police chief General Kowit Wattana from the sack.
"General Saprang was informed two days ago that police would do this. The work appears to be lacking credibility. It is intended just to help the national police chief," said the aide, who requested anonymity.
Surayud had earlier urged Kowit to speed up investigation into the attacks.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/21/headlines/headlines_30024687.php
Suspects have anti-govt link, says Sonthi
CNS chief cautious but expects more arrests from police and military soon
Members of the Thai police, navy and air force are among 15 people being questioned over a string of deadly New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok, with some having links to anti-government groups, authorities said yesterday.
General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, the leader of the bloodless coup on September 19, refused to say who might have been behind the attacks, other than to say those detained had links to unnamed anti-government forces.
Authorities had earlier said that eight of the 15 detained in raids on Saturday were military officers.
The bombings killed three people and wounded nearly 40 while the capital was in the midst of New Year celebrations.
Whether the joint military-police raids signalled a major breakthrough in the investigation is too early to tell, especially after some of the coup leaders including Sonthi expressed strong caution that apparently did not rule out the possibility of the suspects being scapegoats, observers said.
"I was informed that the bombers are linked to a group of people who are anti-government and committed the bombings to discredit and undermine the stability of the government," Sonthi said before leaving on a trip to China. "I give police a free hand to investigate and will talk with them when I return."
Sonthi said he expected more arrests involving other branches of the military or police soon.
When asked about public speculation that the 15 people in custody could be simply scapegoats, Sonthi said: "Like I said, if so, the police chief has to pay the price."
He added: "The police chief will know how much responsibility he has. And he also has to decide on his own whether what he has done is right or wrong because he must know before going to arrest someone - and this [type of] responsibility is high."
Police chief Kowit Watana has had an uneasy relationship with the coup leaders, and his handling of the Bangkok bomb case could determine his future, sources close to the Council for National Security (CNS) said.
Nearly 100 police officers and soldiers searched 18 locations in Bangkok and its outlying suburbs early on Saturday when they detained the eight military and police officers and seven civilians. None of the suspects has been charged and no further details were released.
Among the locations searched was a community radio station in Lop Buri, just outside Bangkok, where authorities believe the bombs were assembled.
Soon after the bombings, Thailand's powerful military declared that the attacks were staged by politicians and renegade army officers loyal to exiled prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. But until now it has offered little proof of those allegations. The police, meanwhile, initially seemed to lean toward the theory that southern insurgents were responsible.
General Saprang Kalayanamitr, the CNS secretary, also insisted yesterday that the bomb attacks were politically motivated and had nothing to do with violence in the deep South.
In a hand-written letter faxed while he was travelling in China earlier this month, Thaksin accused the country's ruling authorities of unfairly implying he was behind the violence.
He also said he suspected Islamic separatists in the South could have been responsible for the eight small blasts.
Meanwhile, the Patani United Liberation Organisation (Pulo) yesterday dismissed a news report in The Australian, saying the longstanding separatist organisation had nothing do to with the Bangkok bombings and was not affiliated with Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian radical Islamic group affiliated with al-Qaeda.
"If we are repeatedly and falsely blamed with such baseless accusations, then this is surely and purely a pretext to link us with any party unknown to us and to drag us unjustly into an unrelated regional conflict which is of no interest to us," said Kasturi Mahkota, Pulo's foreign affairs chief, in a statement to The Nation.
The Nation, Agencies
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/22/headlines/headlines_30024746.php
There is a subtle difference between the English term 'scapegoat' and the Thai term that translates as 'sheep', IMHO.
In my interpretation, a scapegoat is a person who is framed for a crime he or she didn't commit in order to take the heat off someone else. In contrast, a 'sheep' is a person who agrees to take the heat off the real perpetrator or instigator of a crime in return for his/her family being adequately compensated whilst he/she is in clink.
The 'sheep' may actually have been hired to commit the original crime, but takes the rap for a rich or powerful client. The inducement will often be both the threat of death/violence against the 'sheep' or his/her family, in addition to compensation. Indeed, some of that compensation may even be used to make the sheep's confinement a tad less tedious and uncomfortable. The real culprit's lawyer will often be involved in negotiating the necessary arrangements, and may even be paid by the culprit to act as the sheep's lawyer to try and gain him/her the least detrimental punishment.
I can't really imagine a 'sheep' being involved in a case that may well implicate men in uniform, so I imagine The Nation is right to use 'scapegoat' here.
Police chief tightlipped over junta's threat against him
Police Commissioner-General Pol Gen Kowit Watana was tightlipped Monday over the threat by the junta to hold him responsible if police arrested "scapegoats" related to the Bangkok bombings.
An army of reporters waited at the Royal Thai Police since noon to interview him but he declined to come out. He instead sent out an aide to tell reporters that he had nothing to say and the Council for National Security would announce the progress of the Bangkok bombing case by itself on Wednesday.
When Kowit left his office at 3:30 pm to go to Government House, reporters rushed to interview him but he declined to answer any question, simply saying that he had to rush to work.
On Sunday, CNS chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin said the police chief would be held responsible if police arrested scapegoats over the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30024779
It would be only fair to at least consider the possibility that Kowit is himself being scapegoated by certain elements in the CNS.
The main report (second quote below) makes it clear that there are other people in the CNS, in addition to General Saprang, who deeply distrust national police chief General Kowit Wantana. We may yet live to see a significant sacking. May! :rolleyes:
But first read this outtake from the report and relect on the fact that one Col. Suraphol Supradit, a bailed suspect in the Thaksin Car bomb plot conspiracy, was initially listed as one of the recent arrested: -
http://207.5.19.33/forum/showpost.php?p=13217&postcount=97
It was even reported that Col. Suraphol might have built some of the bombs. His name disappeared in subsequent reports. Was this what so annoyed PM Surayud (see below)? It may also be significant that Col. Suraphol was listed as one of the arrested, by The Nation; but that paper subsequently made no attempt to describe how Suraphol had earlier been implicated in the Thaksin car bomb plot conspiracy (see link above): -
Kowit was reportedly confronted by Surayud in a meeting and heavily criticised over reports of suspects' initial identities being leaked to the press by investigators. Surayud was reportedly upset because the leaks included highly confidential information, including investigation techniques and tip-offs volunteered by highly classified police informants and moles.
Who knows what is really going on in the CNS and police force? What we initially envisage as an attempt to arrest a person in uniform may yet again turn into an attempt to protect the army's honor by ensuring that none of its own are arrested.
Main report: -
DSI told to investigate Bangkok bombings
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday assigned the Justice Ministry's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to carry out a parallel inquiry into the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok, reportedly because he did not fully trust the police handling of the investigation.
Surayud said national police chief General Kowit Watana would be dismissed if police were found to have wrongly identified and arrested suspects in the case.
He said the decision on Kowit's future would be based on only one factor: "It's purely down to performance."
Surayud said he had not been briefed in detail by police as to why suspects in the bomb attacks were somehow also linked with those who masterminded and carried out the alleged assassination plot against ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
If Council for National Security chief General Sonthi Booyaratglin pushed for Kowit's dismissal, Surayud said he still needed to discuss with the Army commander why he strongly believed that police had wrongly identified or arrested suspects.
"The DSI involvement in the case is needed to ensure fairness and counter-balancing," he added.
A Crime Suppression Division (CSD) source said a total of 18 suspects, five of whom were civilians, had been detained for questioning. Police were producing scientific evidence to further implicate them, while witness interviews, intelligence reports and tip-offs also linked them with the bomb attacks.
The source said military officers with bomb-making knowledge, who run murder-for-hire rackets and contract killings - some of whom had been involved in bomb attacks in the deep South - had been monitored as potential suspects behind the December 31 bombings.
Kowit stayed in his office at the Royal Thai Police headquarters all day and had his aides inform reporters that he had nothing to say in response to his threatened dismissal. The CNS will release a public statement on the progress of the police investigation at a news conference today
Kowit was reportedly confronted by Surayud in a meeting and heavily criticised over reports of suspects' initial identities being leaked to the press by investigators. Surayud was reportedly upset because the leaks included highly confidential information, including investigation techniques and tip-offs volunteered by highly classified police informants and moles.
Kowit and head investigator and assistant police chief, Lt-General Phanuphong Singhara, had a 20-minute meeting. Both officers left looking tense and declined interviews.
A team of officers had a special meeting at the CSD headquarters at 6pm yesterday, but the outcome was not known at press time.
Assistant Army commander General Anupong Paojinda defended Sonthi's tough stance on Kowit's possible dismissal.
He said the Thai public could become further confused and frustrated with the CNS and its role as coup-makers if wrong suspects were publicly identified or arrested.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/23/headlines/headlines_30024845.php
By 'non-commissioned military officer' they presumably mean someone at Sergeant or Warrant Officer level: -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Thai_Army#Rank_and_insignia
CNS satisfied with police probe into bombings
The Council for National Security yesterday eased off on police after investigators confirmed they had produced concrete evidence incriminating "three to four" out of 19 suspects in the New Year's Eve bombings.
CNS assistant chairman General Anupong Phaojinda told a press conference that key CNS members were now satisfied with the police's progress in identifying suspects and compiling evidence against them.
From evidence and reliable intelligence provided by police, Anupong could "guarantee that the three to four suspects identified were not scapegoats" and that the extended probe continued to build a stronger case against them all.
Some of the 18 suspects, including 13 military officers, are also linked with the alleged car-bomb plot to assassinate then premier Thaksin Shinawatra last year, Anupong said, even though the bomb targets appeared to be different types.
"We base everything on evidence against them, not on a logic that these men who did that thing, cannot do this thing," he said.
Anupong, as assistant Army commander tasked with overseeing the military's parallel inquiry, said police had invested considerable manpower and effort on the case - 177 investigators divided into five teams, each with its own task. "The police operations are continuing carefully with good investigation techniques, evidence-gathering, and material evidence including bomb-related devices seized," he said.
A Crime Suppression police source said one of the 19 suspects in police custody - a non-commissioned military officer - confessed to being involved in the nine bomb attacks on December 31.
A total of 18 suspects had been apprehended and interviewed by police until yesterday morning, when an Air Force non-com officer was secured. In the evening, police released a civilian who runs a chartered van service in western Bangkok's Bang Bon district for lack of evidence. Four civilians remain in police custody.
Before leaving for China on Monday, CNS chairman and Army commander Sonthi Boonyaratglin said he would hold National Police chief Kowit Watana accountable if police produced "scapegoats".
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/24/headlines/headlines_30024947.php
All 19 suspects detained by police released due to a lack of evidence
WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM & WASSANA NANUAM
All 19 people detained for questioning in connection with the New Year blasts have been released for lack of evidence, a police source said yesterday. However, one civilian suspect, Krisdakorn Thipbodi, is being held by Prawase police for illegal possession of firearms, the source added.
None of the fingerprints of the 19 men matched those taken from the blast sites and examination of other evidence is not ready yet, the source said.
Comparison of evidence collected from the bomb sites with materials seized from houses in last Saturday's raids will take another week to complete, the source added.
The 14 military officers and five civilians were released after being held for a week without being charged.
The released men would be summoned for further questioning if new findings suggest they may have been involved in the attacks. Arrest warrants will only be sought if there is solid evidence linking them to the blasts, said the source.
However, all of the released have been put under surveillance on the orders of Pol Lt-Gen Panupong Singhara, assistant police chief and head of the investigation, the source said.
''Besides monitoring their movements, the team will also provide protection, especially to the five civilians,'' said the source. ''Some ill-intentioned group may attempt to intervene.''
Military detainees were handed over to their units which will decide how to deal with them. One of the civilians released, Thanapol Dee-iam, was sent to Surin province where he is wanted on extortion charges.
Council for National Security (CNS) chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin yesterday denied he had been informed in advance of last Saturday's raids.
''No. We did not know anything,'' said Gen Sonthi, who is also the army chief.
National police chief Kowit Wattana had been quoted as reporting to the CNS that Gen Sonthi gave him the green light for the raids on Jan 17, three days before the arrests were made.
Pol Gen Kowit met Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont for an hour yesterday to report the progress of the investigation.
When asked if he was satisfied with the work of the police, Gen Surayud said the national police chief had dedicated resources to efforts to solve the case.
Gen Sonthi has said repeatedly that Pol Gen Kowit would be held personally responsible for the investigation and has publicly warned the police chief against arresting scapegoats.
Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) will decide whether or not to launch a separate probe into the New Year blasts after the release of the suspects.
He said that Gen Sonthi, as director of Isoc, will have the final say in the matter.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/270107_News/27Jan2007_news02.php
DSI to join police probe into blasts
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) wants to review findings from the police investigation into the New Year's Eve bombings.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has asked the two law-enforcement agencies to work together in bringing the bombers to justice.
DSI chief Sunai Manomaiudom will meet with police chiefs today to coordinate the investigation.
He said initial results of a "secret" DSI inquiry agreed with those of the police. But, he added the DSI had a list of suspects separate to that of the police.
"We want to look at the police case summary because, with my experience as a judge, I might be able to tighten it up," he said.
The joint investigation starts today.
Eight bombs exploded in Bangkok on New Year's Eve, killing three and injuring more than 40 others, including some foreigners.
No one has claimed responsibility but authorities suspect the attacks were politically motivated.
Police led by Lt-General Panupong Singha na Ayuthaya detained 18 military officers and civilians on January 13. All were freed last week.
DSI officers have been asked to review the case and reconsider images captured by closed-circuit-television and fragments of a digital watch retrieved from one bombing site.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/29/national/national_30025357.php
I think we can safely assume that the bombs at Prem's house, Santi Asoke, near Thaksin's house, on New Year's Eve and this morning do have some kind of connection. So, this is as good a thread as any for reports on new bombings. This report seems to indicate that some sort of practice grenades were used: -
Blasts attack newspaper office and a hotel's car park
Two explosions rattled Bangkok early Tuesday morning, causing damages outside the offices of Daily News and a nearby hotel but no casualties, police said.
The first blast went off around 1.30am outside the offices of Thai-language newspaper, the Daily News, while the second exploded at a parking lot of the Rama Garden hotel next door.
The explosions caused minor damage to buildings and the road, but no one was injured. Police are investigating the type of explosive and how it happened.
Police were investigating whether the culprits fired a grenade launcher at the building.
Meanwhile Police chief Pol Gen Kowit Wattana said he was briefed about the attack and was informed that the explosive was M-79 grenade launcher.
The Nation
Fake bomb causes scare near oil depot in Chon Buri
Chon Buri - A fake bomb placed in front of an oil depot of PTT Plc caused a bomb scare in this eastern coast province Tuesday morning.
The bomb-like object was discovered by a foods vendor who came to stall at 8:30 am. The stall was located in front of the dept in Sri Racha district.
The object was wrapped with brown adhesive tapes and attached to a clock and had a wire propping out.
The vendor alerted police and bomb disposal officers rushed to the scene.
Police evacuated residents of the area and destroyed the package with a high-pressure water gun but there was no explosive inside. The package had only a motorcycle battery.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30025498
Attack was meant to 'intimidate the media'
Daily News executive Pracha Hetrakul described yesterday's bomb attack on his newspaper office as an attempt to intimidate the media in general.
The bomb blast erupted in the compound of Si-Phya Publishing Co, which operates the Thai-language newspaper, at around 1.30am yesterday seconds after another training grenade landed in the Rama Gardens Hotel's car park next door.
The blasts caused minor damage, but no casualties.
"I believe this is intimidation against the media," Pracha said, adding there were no reports or opinion pieces in the Daily News that could have singled it out as a target for attack.
He said if such intimidation tactics worked, the people would lose because the media delivered information to them.
Democrat Party's secretary general Suthep Thaugsuban also believed the bomb blast at the Daily News office was intended to intimidate media circles.
"We must condemn such intimidation," he said.
Without naming anyone, Suthep said the person who used to be in power might have been upset that the media did not kow-tow to him anymore. "That person controlled the media for five or six years," Suthep said.
An informed source also revealed that before the coup took place, Surayud - who was then a privy councillor - once asked an executive of the Daily News to arrange a meeting between him, the then deputy premier, and the Thai Rak Thai's deputy leader Somkid Jatusripitak.
The source said when the pair met Surayud said he thought Somkid was an appropriate choice for the post of prime minister.
As of press time yesterday, police were still trying to determine who fired the two training grenades into the Daily News office and the hotel's car park - from where and why.
"We have yet to determine the cause of the bomb attacks," Assistant National Police Commissioner Lt General Jongrak Juthanont said.
There are also differing opinions as to where the grenades were fired.
While an investigation team at the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) believed the grenades were fired from the elevated Don Muang tollway, another team at the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) suggested the grenades might have been fired from a deserted school next to the Daily News office.
The MPB team said they were pursuing leads from video recordings retrieved from a surveillance camera. It said the recordings showed a car suspiciously slowed down on a portion of the Don Muang tollway at the time the two grenades could have been launched from there to the two targets below.
"There were not many vehicles on the tollway at that time. We should be able to track down the owner of the suspicious vehicle," an informed source quoted an investigator as saying.
According to the source, the crucial recordings showed the driver of the suspicious car and its registration plate.
Because inspections at the blast scenes pointed to an M79 grenade launcher being used in the attacks, the source said investigators were looking into which agencies possessed such a launcher.
"The person who fired the grenades must have been an expert too. Based on the information from a security guard, the two blasts went off just 10 seconds apart," the source said.
So far, the CSD team said it was more likely that the grenades were launched from a deserted school building next to the office.
"Local people said they heard dogs barking in the middle of the night, followed by the bomb blasts," the team said.
Thung Song Hong police station's inspector Lt Col Manit Kasemsiri, believed the blasts did not cause serious damage because they were only training grenades.
National Police Chief General Kowit Watana also inspected the scene. "I have reported the incident to the Council for National Security. I have ordered police officers to step up security measures," he said.
He also called on people to watch out and alert the authorities if they detect anything suspicious.
Currently, police have yet to complete their investigation into eight bombs in the heart of Bangkok on New Year's Eve in which three people were killed and dozens more injured.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont declined to comment on the cause of yesterday's bomb blasts. "Police will investigate and identify suspects," he said.
He insisted the latest bomb blasts would not prompt the government to re-impose martial law in Bangkok. Martial law was removed last Friday.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/31/headlines/headlines_30025578.php
Surayud says police chief may be removed if fails evaluation
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Pol Gen Kowit Wattana may lose his job as national police chief if he fails the performance evaluation.
He said he had yet to wait for announcement of the Council for National Security and the Internal Security Operations Command over the progress of the Bangkok bombings case before making a decision as to whether to remove the police chief.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30025597
Indeed, this report that the UN may get involved in reforming the Royal Thai Police is probably yet another nail in the Kowit coffin: -
UN experts to assist Thai Police revamp
The United Nations (UN) will send four experts to assist Thailand in making a "roadmap" for the Thai police institution revamp in early March, said Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Kittipong Kittiyarak, Tuesday.
In a meeting with the commission on January 27, executives of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Criminal Justice Reform Unit, offered to send their officials to participate and contribute suggestions to the Thai Police revamp, as the UN had experience from police revamps in many other countries, he said.
The UN offer was in line with the commission's idea to have the new police structure created from the people's participation; to decentralise power to locals and enable the police to work closely with and become a "rock" - for the public, he said.
In early March, four experts from the UN will attend meetings in Thailand to assist in drawing up the reform roadmap - including an action plan, responsible parties, budgets and the assignment of a committee to proceed with the reform within three years, according to Kittipong.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30025512
Surayud says police chief may be removed if fails evaluation
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Pol Gen Kowit Wattana may lose his job as national police chief if he fails the performance evaluation.
He said he had yet to wait for announcement of the Council for National Security and the Internal Security Operations Command over the progress of the Bangkok bombings case before making a decision as to whether to remove the police chief.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30025597
Indeed, this report that the UN may get involved in reforming the Royal Thai Police is probably yet another nail in the Kowit coffin: -
UN experts to assist Thai Police revamp
The United Nations (UN) will send four experts to assist Thailand in making a "roadmap" for the Thai police institution revamp in early March, said Justice Ministry deputy permanent secretary Kittipong Kittiyarak, Tuesday.
In a meeting with the commission on January 27, executives of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Criminal Justice Reform Unit, offered to send their officials to participate and contribute suggestions to the Thai Police revamp, as the UN had experience from police revamps in many other countries, he said.
The UN offer was in line with the commission's idea to have the new police structure created from the people's participation; to decentralise power to locals and enable the police to work closely with and become a "rock" - for the public, he said.
In early March, four experts from the UN will attend meetings in Thailand to assist in drawing up the reform roadmap - including an action plan, responsible parties, budgets and the assignment of a committee to proceed with the reform within three years, according to Kittipong.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30025512
Channel 11 Newsline's ML Nattakorn Devakula this evening mentioned that some locals believe that the bombings were actually part of an attempt to discredit and remove General Kowit and his supporters from powerful positions in the Royal Thai Police. This has certainly crossed my mind in the past, but this is the first time that I have heard or seen anyone express the idea that Kowit was the ultimate target of the attacks. In fairness to the frequently over-opinionated Nattakorn, he most certainly wasn't stating this as his own opinion. (He did, however, manage to overstep the mark when the subject of certain TOT board appointees came up later in the program.)
[ML = Mom Luang. ML is an aristocratic rank given to the offspring of Mom Rachawong (MR) aristos. Nattakorn is the son of the Finance Minister (& former Bank of Thailand Governor) Pridiyathon Devakul. (MRs are the sons of princes.)]
That said, this is yet another take on the bombings that should be treated with great suspicion. Nattakorn & other high-ranking aristocrats frequently cast aspersions on less-buttressed members of Thai society knowing full-well that they themselves are largely beyond reproach.
What's going on here?: -
1) An attempt to belatedly placate the Saudis in the hope they will also help to solve the problem in the deep south?
(2) An attempt to discredit General Kowit and other police officers of a slightly TRT leaning.
(3) An attempt to fend off police criticism of current moves towards 'root & branch' reform of the entire police system?
DSI to speed up Saudi murder cases
Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Wednesday vowed to speed up its probe into the murders of four Saudi diplomats and the disappearance of a Saudi businessman.
The crimes took place in Thailand in 1989 and 1990 respectively, souring relationship between the two countries.
Available clues suggested that Thai police were involved.
Following DSI board meeting, DSI chief Sunai Manomaiudom Wednesday said DSI deputy director general Pol Col Tawee Sodsong and Office of Foreign Case chief Pol Col Naratch Sawettanan would meet with Saudi officials in a bid to solve the cases.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30025615
Council for National Security chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin yesterday sympathised with national police chief Kowit Watana, saying that his former classmate had served mainly with the Border Patrol Headquarters and might not have sufficient skill in investigations.
Classmateship obviously ain't what it used to be. Kowit might well be extremely annoyed by such a crass and conniving remark from the leader of another armed service: -
NEW YEAR'S BLASTS
Some suspects 'identified soon'
The identities of at least some of the bombers in the New Year's Eve attacks will be known in the next few days, Department of Special Investigation (DSI) director-general Sunai Manomai-udom said yesterday.
DSI agents are compiling information on two men and a woman who were filmed by surveillance cameras at CentralWorld, one of the nine sites bombed. One of the men could be a civilian with a criminal record and history of involvement with insurgent activities in the South, Sunai said.
He said images of the two other suspects were undergoing a visual enhancement process at an overseas lab, so that they could be identified or checked against criminal records. The security-camera footage shows the three people approaching a dustbin and dropping something in before fading away.
Sunai said everything would become clearer in the near future, but whether the information could be made public was another matter. He did not say how soon the masterminds of the bomb attacks or other operatives would be identified. "How can the country go on and survive if we keep failing to find the culprits? The time is needed because we don't want to make any mistakes or do anything without evidence that might affect civil liberties or result in legal disadvantage [during trials]," he added.
Sunai said the images were from the same security-camera footage examined by the police, who did not report finding any evidence from it.
He said the DSI had interviewed different witnesses from the police and had not found any links between the bombings and the 19 suspects, including 15 military officers, who were detained by the police for a week before being released last Friday.
Meanwhile, police investigators who have been ordered to start re-examining the case are aiming their enquiry at people with connections to insurgents in the South, according to a police source.
The source said a man caught on surveillance cameras dropping a potato-chip cylinder in a trash bin at the Seacon Square department store was possibly a suspect wanted by police in Yala's Betong district. The source said the man had been identified, but it was not confirmed if he was the same person named in the Betong police arrest warrant. He added that the man was involved with a separatist movement identified as "PYNSS", but mostly carried out attacks for money.
Council for National Security chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin yesterday sympathised with national police chief Kowit Watana, saying that his former classmate had served mainly with the Border Patrol Headquarters and might not have sufficient skill in investigations.
Asked about Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's earlier statement that the final decision to dismiss Kowit rested only with Sonthi, the Army commander merely smiled and shook his head as a refusal to comment.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/02/national/national_30025764.php
Blasts: conflicting accounts by agencies
The investigation into the New Year's Eve bombings has become complicated and the public confused by conflicting accounts and rivalry among the three law enforcement agencies involved.
Suggestions that a man with links to violence in the South was involved have further muddied the waters.
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) yesterday denied leaking a photograph identifying a man implicated as one of three suspects in the attacks.
DSI director-general Sunai Manomai-udom said his agency should be the only one involved in the investigation. It is armed with special powers authorising it to second members of other agencies and overseas personnel, operate telephone taps and infiltrate crime syndicates.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont asked the DSI to jointly investigate the case with the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) and the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB). Last week the police were forced to release military and civilian suspects after failing to produce sufficient evidence to charge them.
Sunai will meet with the DSI board and if it "agrees this is an emergency case the DSI can immediately take over the case without waiting for a decision to be made at next month's regular meeting," he added.
A mug shot of a man - identified as Ramkhamhaeng University dropout Thawalsak Paenae - was leaked to the news media on Thursday. It is said the man is wanted by police in Yala's Betong district for alleged involvement in bomb attacks at several provincial banks late last year.
Sunai said DSI agents spotted a man "similar in appearance" to Thawalsak in video footage from surveillance cameras at Seacon Square. The man was observed depositing a potato-crisp container into a refuse bin that later exploded.
"I insist here I am one-million-per-cent confident the leak did not come from the DSI. I don't understand why the photo of this man - which has been in the possession of three agencies for a month - was released only after the DSI began jointly investigating the case," Sunai added.
He said that while the man's surname indicated his origin and birthplace as the strife-torn South there was no direct link between his recorded insurgent activities and the bomb attacks in Bangkok.
Sunai was certain that more than three people involved in one of the New Year's attacks were caught on video recordings.
First Army Region Lt-General Prayuth Jan-ocha said the military, police and DSI investigators had to rethink strategies now the photograph had been leaked.
He said Council for National Security chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin had given him orders that nothing in the case be "distorted".
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/03/headlines/headlines_30025852.php
Kowit removed as police chief
Pol Gen Kowit Watana has been removed as police commissioner-general.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont signed an order on Monday to transfer Kowit to the PM's Office.
The order appointed Pol Gen Seripisut Temiyawes, an adviser attached to the Royal Thai Police, as acting police chief.
The order took immediate effect.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30026015
Pol Gen Seripisut replaces Kowit as police super boss
Pol Gen Kowit Watana is dismissed as police commissioner general on Monday and be transferred to the PM's Office, about a month after series of bomb attacks rocked Bangkok and suburbs.
Prime Minister Surayudh Chulanont signed the order on Monday and appointed Pol Gen Seripisut Temiyavet, an advisor to the police department as acting police chief.
The order took immediate effect.
Many have called for the government to sack Kowit after he and his department failed to provide safety for the people. Moreover police still failed to find culprits who involved in the bomb attacks that killed three people and injured many others.
The calls to oust Kowit were intensified following bomb attack at the Daily News newspaper and nearby hotel. No one was arrested.
Kowit was said to have close connection with ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/05/headlines/headlines_30026016.php
Police spokesman resigns
Pol Gen Ajiravid Subranbasaj, deputy national police chief and police spokesman, resigned Monday following the removal of his boss, Pol Gen Kowit Wattana, as national police chief.
Ajiravid said he had submitted his resignation.
He was speaking to reporters after meeting Kowit for about an hour.
He said earlier that he would leave police service if Kowit was removed from the top police post.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30026031
Besieged police chief ousted
Kowit learns of transfer via reporters; police general Seriphisut succeeds him
National police chief Kowit Watana was yesterday transferred to an inactive civilian post, following weeks of public pressure and media speculation.
Pressure to replace Kowit intensified during the questionable handling of investigations into the nine bombings in Bangkok on New Year's Eve.
Police General Seriphisut Temiyavej, a senior adviser to the Royal Thai Police, was appointed as Kowit's successor.
Leaving his office late in the evening, a grim-faced Kowit was quickly surrounded by a crowd of reporters.
When asked to comment on his dismissal, he said: "We cannot choose the way we were born. I'd like to tell policemen to be patient in performing their duties."
He also described policing as "a cursed profession". He did not explain why.
Seriphisut, known as a adversary of Kowit due to previous conflicts, kept his comments to a single phrase: "One reaps what one sows."
Police spokesman General Ajiravid Subranbasaj also resigned yesterday, following Kowit's transfer.
Government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarb told a press conference that Kowit was not removed over the perceived incompetence of the police investigation into the bomb attacks.
"The decision was made jointly by his superiors," Yongyuth said.
"They decided that it would be appropriate if the national police chief performs his public duties at the PM's Office," he said.
"The matter had been discussed jointly by the prime minister and the chairman of the Council for National Security [General Sonthi Boonyaratglin] all along," he added.
Reporters covering the military were the first to hear reports about Kowit's dismissal, at about 4pm yesterday. The news then filtered to reporters at Government House and the PM's Office.
Kowit was told he had been dismissed by reporters at police headquarters before he was officially informed, reports said.
Ajiravid said later that the news of Kowit's dismissal put him in a state of disbelief.
In a brief interview before he resigned, Ajiravid declined to comment on Kowit's transfer, saying he needed to be notified of the order by PM's Office.
CNS Chairman Sonthi had threatened he would hold Kowit responsible if police failed to identify those who orchestrated and carried out the bomb attacks, or if they produced "scapegoats". The threat was made before the 19 suspects detained by police over the New Year's Eve bombings, who included military officers, were released on January 26.
The CNS will soon decide whether Kowit's status as a CNS member will be invalidated or whether Seriphisut will assume it.
Seriphisut said he would meet with senior officers today. He will revitalise the investigation into the bomb attacks as well as one into a grenade attack on the Daily News compound last week, he said.
He used metaphors to describe the changes he would bring about. Under him, all officers must "go forward in top gear" and those "staying in neutral position" would face disciplinary action, he said.
Retired national police chief Pratin Santipraphob welcomed Kowit's dismissal. Pratin, also a former senator, described Seriphisut as a leader who was bold and untainted by corruption.
Much needed to be done and officers would need to work together to reform the force, he said.
Although he noted that many officers might not cooperate with their new chief, Pratin still supported the leadership change.
Speaking in a pre-recorded television interview aired after his transfer, Kowit said he had adhered to the law throughout his 40-year career. He said the 19 suspects held over the New Year's Eve bombings had to be released because there was not enough evidence against them.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/06/headlines/headlines_30026083.php
I'm told his first name used to be just Seri, but that he changed it some years back in order to convey a more forthright aura to the public.
Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont will explain to the media this afternoon - after a Cabinet meeting - why he decided to dismiss Pol Gen Kowit Watana as police chief.
He promised to talk to the press after the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
See full interview by watching the clip of the full programme here: -
mms://video.tv5.co.th/news/tvnews/rerun/siam02_06_50.wmv
SIAM THIS MORNING
Seripisut expresses confidence of solving Bangkok bombing cases
Newly-appointed police chief Pol Gen Seripisut Temiyavej Tuesday expressed confidence that he could solve the Bangkok bombings case.
Seripisut was giving interview to Nation Group editor Thepchai Yong during the Siam This Morning programme broadcast on Channel 5.
The acting police chief said if he had enough time he could solve all the cases, including the Bangkok bombings on New Year's Eve, the bomb attack against Daily News paper, and arson attacks against many schools in northern and northeastern provinces.
"Alll can be done but it depends on time frame. Bangkok bombings, bomb attack against Daily News, and school arsons in many provinces and even the southern violence could be solved," Seripisut told Thepchai.
"But I need time. Today [Tuesday], I'll hold a meeting of all police commanders to set the working direction so that police forces could move on working."
Seripisut said he did not know in advance that he would be made acting police commissioner-general, replacing Pol Gen Kowit Wattana.
"I've never met the prime minister earlier," he said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/06/headlines/headlines_30026108.php
TGunner
06-02-07, 11:53 AM
Nice. I think Seri is one of the better cops we have. Cheers for this news!
Hardly illuminating stuff from the PM. In fairness, it was probably a bit of an epic Cabinet session. On top of this issue, the Cabinet OK'ed 5 mass transit routes, agreed to Bangkok having two international airports and even fielded a protest by 500 dairy farmers over milk prices: -
Pol Gen Kowit is sacked because he does not pass evaluation : PM
Pol Gen Kowit Watana is dismissed as police chief because he did not pass the evaluation, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Tuesday.
The decision to sack Kowit on Monday came after he consulted with Council of National Security's chief Gen Sonthi Bunyaratglin, Surayud said.
"The decision came from our evaluation on his performance for the past period. We agreed that there should be some changes in the Royal Thai Police so that their works could be more effective and more progress.
Asked the reason behind appointment of Pol Gen Seripisut Temeyavej as acting police commissioner general instead of choosing deputy police commissioner general, Surayud said Seripisut is chosen because he is the most senior.
Before talking to the press, Surayud met Seripisut at the Government House.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30026116
I'm told his first name used to be just Seri, but that he changed it some years back in order to convey a more forthright aura to the public.
'Pisut' (or even 'Wisut') appears to be of Pali-Sanskrit origin and have the approximate meaning of 'pure', 'clean' or 'spotless'. It has been added as a suffix to his existing name. ['Vizada' in Sanskrit appears to mean 'spotless'.]
I have hunted high and low for the General's biography, since I seem to remember he suffered political interference in his work from the likes of former Interior minister & PM General Chaovalit Yongjaiyudh. If anyone has this info, please post it here.
It seems that Seri felt contaminated by this political interference, and so decided to purify his tainted name with a suffix. ( I'm told that prefixes can do the same thing. e.g: Thanajaroen can thus replace a luckless Jaroen.)
Again, I claim no authority on these matters other than the fact that I have a local informant. Please feel free to correct this if you perceive I have made a false interpretation.
It is obvious that quite a few people have a high regard for General Seripisut and his apparent attempts to purge the force of negative influences. But it is precisely that same missionary zeal that has probably created many enemies for him within the police force over the decades.
Is it really such a good idea to wash such dirty laundry in public?: -
Acting national police chief Pol Gen Seripisut Temiyavej Wednesday strongly criticised the metropolitan police chief for "staying aloof" related to the case of Bangkok bombings.
Seripisut said it was not right that Pol Lt Gen Wiroj Chantharangsi, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, had not taken full responsibility in the case and left it to a deputy national police chief to take charge.
"The Metropolitan Police Bureau has over 20,000 police personnel but a deputy police chief has to step in to take care of the case while the metropolitan police chief has been doing nothing apart from staying aloof," Seripisut said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30026222
Why do Thai police give prior warning of the issuance of arrest warrants? I've yet to hear a plausible explanation. Now the Police and DSI are arguing whether these warrants should even be issued? Are they incapable of discussing these things in private?: -
Arrest warrant to be issued against alleged Bangkok bombers
Acting national police chief Pol Gen Seripisut Temiyavej said Wednesday that an arrest warrant will be issued next week against alleged persons who planted bombs in one of nine Bangkok bombings.
He was speaking to reporters after holding a meeting of investigators in charge of the case of nine Near Year's Eve bombings.
He said investigators had gathered enough evidence to obtain warrants against suspects in one of the bombings and probes into the nine other bombings had also progressed a lot.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30026850
Which was followed by this: -
DSI to more video records from security cameras to Denmark for checking
The chief of the Department of Special Investigation said Wednesday that he would send more video records from security cameras to Denmark to check for more suspects in the nine Bangkok bombings.
Sunai Manomai-udom, director-general of the DSI, said he would seek help from experts of the country to perform close-up facial photo printing to check for more suspects.
Sunai said Denmark has sent some printings, which are clear enough to tell who they are by their relatives, to the DSI.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30026864
And then the DSI complained about the police warrants: -
DSI disagrees with police' s plan to issue arrest warrants in Bangkok bomb case
Department of Special Investigation (DSI) director-general Sunai Manomaiudom Wednesday expressed doubt that police had enough evidence to obtain arrest warrants against Bangkok bomb suspects.
He said a parallel probe by the DSI into the bombings had found nothing new other than video footage from surveillance cameras at the bomb sites.
Sunai, a former judge, said images of suspects captured from the footage was not enough to be used in court against suspects in most trials.
"I personally believe that the police rushed to make arrests because they needed to show off their performance," he said.
"If the DSI catches someone, the evidence against them must be sufficient and good enough. We don't make arrests to release suspects."
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30026871
Now we can only live in hope that Saphan Khwai anarchists prefer reading pocket books: -
Warrant likely for Saphan Khwai bomber
Police will today submit a request to the Criminal Court for an arrest warrant against a man suspected of planting a bomb at the Saphan Khwai Intersection on New Year's Eve, acting police commissioner Seripisut Temiyavej said yesterday.
He said police had video footage from security cameras at the intersection clearly showing the identity of the unnamed man that was linked to the bombing.
But he added, "If the image is not clear enough, police will not submit a request for the warrant."
Asked to comment on an earlier statement by Sunai Manomai-udom, director-general of the Justice Ministry's Department of Special Investigation (DSI), that the DSI had not yet had sufficient evidence against anyone, Seripisut angrily replied, "How can the DSI chief say so without seeing the police evidence?"
Deputy police chief Lt-General Jongrak Juthanont, head investigator handling the police probe into all nine bombs, said the four conditions under a police-DSI agreement should be reduced to two. Those are exchanging useful information about the bombings and swapping copies of official reports that each department submits to the Cabinet or the Council for National Security.
He said Seripisut had decided the two other conditions - joint acknowledgement by DSI agents on police acts that may hamper or violate human rights and the joint presence of DSI agents during police interrogation of suspects in custody - should be dropped, because the police have now taken over the case completely from DSI.
Jongrak said police investigators would seek a warrant at the Criminal Court today. "I am confident the footage is sufficient evidence to prompt the court to issue the warrant," he added.
Sunai later said the DSI still needed to run a parallel probe into the bombings, on orders from Premier Surayud Chulanont.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/16/national/national_30027012.php
Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for a suspect who allegedly involved in the New Year's Eve bombing.
Sketch of the suspect will be released today.
The warrant was issued at the request of Pol Lt Gen Jongrak Chutanont, deputy police commissioner general who is chief of the investigation into the fatal bombing.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30027042
They don't know the suspect's name. I admit I have never thought of the possibility of issuing a warrant for a person captured in a video image. I suppose it's probably technically possible just about everywhere in the world, but I guess the majority of bystander's of this fracas were expecting a name to the face: -
Police chief insists man captured on security camera real bomber
National Police chief Pol Gen Seripisut Temyavej insisted Friday that the picture of a man captured on a security camera in Saphan Kwai area belonged to the person who planted one of nine bombs in Bangkok on New Year's Eve.
Seripisut said the evidence was clear that the man was the person who planted a bomb in Saphan Kwai area so police sought an arrest warrant against him.
Seripisut admitted that police did not know the name of the man yet.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30027057
Watch the Video Clip (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/newyearbomb/)
You may need to scroll down a tad to get the added English subtitles.
VIDEO CLIP OF NEW YEAR'S BOMBING
A Bt1 million reward offered for clue to suspect
Police released Monday a video clip which they said show footages of a suspect who was involved in the fatal bombing in Saphan Kwai on the New Year's Eve. Police have sought public assistance to help locate the man who appeared in the video clip.
The government will give out a Bt1 million reward for anyone who provide information leading to the arrest of the suspect.
forumadmin
19-02-07, 06:43 PM
At one point didn't they say the Saphan Kwai bomb was dropped from the overhead walkway?
Strange how with all those angles it misses the point when the bomb is planted--or am i missing something?
BangkokPundit
20-02-07, 01:43 AM
At one point didn't they say the Saphan Kwai bomb was dropped from the overhead walkway?
Strange how with all those angles it misses the point when the bomb is planted--or am i missing something?
From memory there were reports of bystanders saying they thought something was thrown from an overhead walkway. If it was a grenade maybe it was correct, but I am not so sure about the bombs they were using could be thrown like that.
This is almost certainly as a result of the bombing investigations, given General Seripisut's heavy criticism of Gen Viroj's role in the case: -
The Police Commission Wednesday approved the transfer of Pol Lt Gen Viroj Chantharangsi from the post of metropolitan police commissioner to the post of Provincial Police Bureau 6 commissioner.
Viroj was replaced by Pol Lt Gen Adisorn Nonsee, Provincial Police Bureau 6 who is close to acting national police chief Pol Gen Seripisut Temiyavej.
The transfer was part of a reshuffle of 57 senior police officers. The Police Commission spent about five hours to consider and approve the reshuffle list.
Other transfers included the promotion of assistant police commissioner-general Pol Gen Charnwut Watcharapuk as deputy police commissioner-general.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30027493
Thai government officials have an aversion to overt warnings of potential terrorist attack. Doubtless, they are fighting shy of the flak they could get from heavy-hitters in the tourist industry if they make such warnings too frequently and openly.
In the wake of the Hat-Yai bombings in October, there were (Thai script) leaflets distributed to a few locals of possible attacks during the Vegetarian Festival. These leaflets came from the local police station. I'm told that the leaflets were deliberately delivered to houses where more well-to-do or educated people appeared to live; the idea being that other groups might do little more than begin 'bad rumors' with such information. :rolleyes:
Only a few Malaysian & Singaporean weekenders, backpacker tourists and expats would have received this information.
And I certainly remember the Prime Minister himself saying that he was in his office on New Year's Eve because he had been expecting some kind of attacks in Bangkok.
Take note of the following report, because it's almost certainly ALL the warning you will receive. He could be telling us - in a roundabout way - that he has received fairly concrete intelligence reports of imminent bomb attacks: -
Southern militants may slip to capital : Defense minister
Militants from the restive south have slipped into Bangkok and infiltrated in universities with potential to launch attack to the capital, Defense Minister Boonrod Somtat said Thursday.
"We cannot control them as they exploit liberty as students to have free movement throughout Bangkok," General Boonrod told reporters.
"We have intelligence units to take care of this matter but they might over come our surveillance," he said.
The ministry admitted to the parliamentarian during a session on the situation in the deep south yesterday that the government remained no achievement to contain the ongoing violence while the militants kept expanding their operation.
Security officials could not reach out local Muslims in many red zones in the predominantly Muslim region as the military network was destroyed since former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dissolved the Southern Border Province Administrative Centre in 2002. The centre was revised two months ago but could not enforce full function, he added.
Of the 200 villages in the so-called red zone in the three southernmost provinces Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, authorities could reach out and be able to destroy organised structure of the militants in only 50 villagers, he said.
The militants had deep roots in the region as most of them were bred in both religious and secular schools for more than a decade since they were young, he said in parliament. There are some 1,000 schools including Islamic boarding schools which implanted anti-state to them, he said.
"The schools teach them the anti-state and pro-Patani ideology since they were 12 years old when they ripped and grow, they would be sworn in the militancy," he said.
There are now in their adult age and some 1,000 people were equipped as main armed forces to operate in remote areas while some 10,000 people were associated fighters and sympathy who have capacity to create troubles in urban areas, he said.
Intelligence information indicated that many key members met to plan in Malaysia's Kelantan state and crossed the border to flare up the deep south, he said.
National Intelligence Agency's chief General Vaipot Srinual who opened the motion in the parliament said there are growing number of two-faced people in the deep south to help spur fire in the region. "They pretend to be with us when they talk to officials but generate misperception whey they associate with local people," he said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/22/headlines/headlines_30027612.php
It seems that we are gradually being manipulated into thinking that the Bangkok bombings may well have had a southern factor. Doubtless, the hope is that if they introduce this idea drip-by-drip no one will notice that they jumped to some fairly hefty conclusions over the New Year.
Sorry if there is some repetition in this report, but it would be rather pointless to tease out the different strands in it: -
BANGKOK THREAT
Militants are hiding out in universities
Defence minister says potential terrorists being monitored but could still do harm
Militants from the restive South who have slipped into Bangkok to study at universities had the potential to launch attacks in the capital, Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said yesterday.
"We cannot control them as they exploit the liberty of students to move freely about Bangkok," General Boonrawd told reporters.
"We have intelligence units to take care of this matter but they might slip through our surveillance," he said.
Authorities are understood to be monitoring a group of students from Ramkhamhaeng University allegedly linked to the bombs in Bangkok on New Year's Eve.
But information about other universities in the capital with students from the South was unknown.
Chidchanok Rahimulla, an academic at the Prince of Songkhla University in Pattani, said enrolments by Muslim students from the far South has risen over this past year but he warned against jumping to premature conclusions about them.
"Some [students] may sympathise with the militants and their separatist ideology but it doesn't necessarily mean they are militant themselves," Chidchanok said.
"I believe their perception of the situation will expand as they will be exposed to the world outside of their community," he said. "Besides, active militants are not people who study at universities or colleges."
An exiled leader residing in Malaysia said more and more young people in the Malay-speaking South were interested in knowing about their own history - but took up a Patani-Malay nationalist sentiment.
He said their enrolment in university could be a positive thing, as this would bring up the issue of the Malay region and where it fitted in Thailand's context of a nation-state.
Boonrawd told Parliament during a session yesterday on the crisis in the deep South, the government had yet to contain the violence as the militants kept expanding their operations.
He blamed the government of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for destroying the intelligence and communication network established by the Southern Border Province Administrative Centre, which the previous administration had dissolved 2002.
The centre was reinstated two months ago.
Authorities had only succeeded in neutralising about 50 or a quarter of 200 villages rated as "red zone" areas that have many militants, in the three southernmost provinces Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.
Boonrawd told Parliament the militants had deep roots in the region as most were reared in both religious and secular schools for more than a decade since they were young. He said there were some 1,000 schools, including Islamic boarding schools, which implanted anti-state sentiment in the young.
"The schools have taught them anti-state and pro-Patani ideology since they were 12 years old and that paved the way for them to adopt militancy."
Boonrawd said about 1,000 of these youngsters had reached adulthood and were actively part of the insurgency and they had about 10,000 sympathisers and active supporters - people who militants could mobilise to make trouble and disturbances for the authorities.
Intelligence reports indicated that many key members met to plan strategies in Malaysia's Kelantan state then crossed the border to wreak havoc in the far South, he said.
National Intelligence Agency chief General Vaipot Srinual, who opened the motion in Parliament, said there were growing number of "two-faced people" helping to spur violence in the region.
"They pretend to be with us when they talk to officials but generate misperceptions when they associate with local people," he said.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/23/headlines/headlines_30027663.php
To paraphrase one pundit a while back: If The Nation thinks it knows why something is happening, you can pretty much bet your bottom dollar they've got it wrong. I often think of The Nation as the 'Old Thunderer' of the Thai media.
Well, for that matter does any one in the media here really have the faintest idea what is going on? And if they did, would it make one ha'pporth of difference to the way these conflicts are played out here anyway? It is clearly unacceptable to deliberately keep the public misinformed in an attempt to avoid any further impacts on investment and tourism. But that is the way it always pans out here.
The Nation's use of the word 'complacency' below might perhaps be better rendered as 'disregard for the public'. That cuts both ways of course. Both sides have conditioned themselves into the mindset that the public is little more than something that you can disregard and manipulate with impunity. Of course, there is zero chance that such sympathies will ever have any impact on those who plant bombs for a living. But I doubt they will have much impact on this government either. It sells newspapers, but I suspect Suthichai Yoon realised years ago that his voice of the nation was really flogging a dead horse in expecting anything to really change as a result of his paper's thunderings: -
EDITORIAL
Complacency no longer an option
The government must come clean about the threat of terrorism and how society can best be organised to fight it
Eventually, the Surayud government and Council for National Security (CNS) will have to admit that they need all the help they can get from ordinary citizens in the war on terrorism. This is especially true when our security forces have failed over the past three years to contain the raging insurgency involving Islamic militants/Malay separatists in the deep South. Some 2,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed in the southern provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and certain parts of Songkhla.
Few people in Bangkok, and indeed in the rest of the country, need to be reminded that insurgents now have the capability to launch terrorist attacks anywhere, given the bombings in the capital city on New Year's Eve, which killed three people and injured dozens of others. Our sense of smug complacency has been shattered and we have come to the realisation that Bangkok and other commercial, industrial and tourist centres are not invulnerable to terrorist strikes.
In their first reaction to the blasts in Bangkok on December 31 last year, the Surayud administration and the military junta ruled out the possibility that terrorists sympathetic to the separatist cause in the Malay-speaking South were responsible for these heinous crimes. They preferred to put the blame on "disaffected elements with links to those who have recently lost political power" - a thinly veiled reference to allies of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Obviously, the government and the CNS would be reluctant to admit that their failure to suppress the insurgency in the South had resulted in terrorism spreading to other parts of the country. But almost two months after the Bangkok bombings, police investigators have yet to produce any evidence to substantiate charges against rogue police and military officers known to have close connections with the old regime.
The time has come for the government and the CNS to tell people the truth about terrorism - which is the number one national security threat - and the need for our society to get organised to fight it.
People must be told in no uncertain terms that these terrorists, who have no qualms about killing and maiming men, women and children, want not only to destabilise politics, wreak havoc on the economy and damage social harmony. They also want to strike fear in the hearts of common citizens, disrupt their everyday lives and wear down their will to oppose terrorists' devious designs.
Less than two months after the terrorist attacks in Bangkok, most people have already been lulled into a false sense of security. The fact that the Bangkok attacks involved small, improvised explosive devices that killed only a few people does not mean that the next wave of strikes will follow suit.
To be successful in preventing terrorist attacks, we must succeed 100 per cent of the time. The odds are in the terrorists' favour: they only need to be successful once out of numerous failed attempts, in order to commit an atrocity of disproportionate consequences.
It is better for the government to come clean with the public about its anti-terrorism, counter-insurgency capabilities and what sorts of specific help they might need from citizens in order to reinforce a countrywide security shield.
In Bangkok and other big cities, security must be tightened in all public places, not just in some specific areas. The government must deploy visibly armed and well-trained troopers at public places from bus terminals, railway stations and airports, to government offices and public buildings. This is the only way to constantly remind people to stay alert.
To prevent widespread panic, members of the public must be educated about the clear and present danger of terrorism and how individuals can contribute to public safety by staying vigilant. Emergency medical services must be upgraded so that they will be able to offer life-saving pre-hospital care to victims in the event of a large-scale terrorist attack. The fire brigade and emergency rescue units must be equipped with heavy-lifting equipment and machines that can cut through wreckage and collapsed masonry.
This country will be in the fight against terrorism for the long haul. And the time to raise public awareness and improve our capability to fight terrorism is now.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/23/opinion/opinion_30027634.php
From the Australian Govt's Dept. of Foreign Affairs & Trade.
Here's hoping they got their intelligence report somewhere a bit more clued in than this thread! :): -
We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution because of the high threat of terrorist attack. We continue to receive reports that terrorists may be planning attacks against a range of targets, including places frequented by foreigners. Reports indicate possible bombing attacks at crowded places such as department stores, and sky-train and subway stations in Bangkok on Friday 23 February 2007.
http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Thailand
The initial post in this thread should also be read: -
http://207.5.19.33/forum/showpost.php?p=13666&postcount=1
If you were not particulalrly interested in the SET - as in my case - you might well have missed this. Maybe there's something in the notion that you spread the word to the wealthy and educated first, and everyone else doesn't need to know what might befall them. No other part of the today's 'Breaking News' section contains this info. It's hardly informative here, and yesterday's reports were fairly obligue too: -
Thai share prices closed 0.41 percent lower on Friday after the Australian Embassy in Bangkok urged its citizens to be extra alert amid fears of possible bomb attacks in the capital, dealers said.
They said the warning dampened sentiment among foreign investors, who had been jittery since deadly New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok, which killed three and injured dozens, including foreign tourists.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) composite index fell 2.85 points to 690.76 while the bluechip SET 50 index declined 1.32 points to 484.43.
Agence France-Presse
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30027701
Although the report does not go into any details. See earlier reports in this thread for the Australian advisory: -
Aust, UK embassies issue travel warnings
Australia and Britain yesterday issued travel warnings to their citizens, urging them to exercise a high degree of caution when visiting Thailand and to avoid demonstrations, political rallies and areas with concentrations of military personnel.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/24/headlines/headlines_30027778.php
Here it is, although it doesn't really look there is that much new in it: -
# We advise against all but essential travel to, or through, the far southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla, where there is continuing violence due to insurgency and civil unrest. Since January 2004, there have been regular attacks including bombings and shootings. Most recently, on 18 and 19 February 31 bombs exploded in the far southern provinces. The Thai Government has declared a serious state of emergency in the provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.
# There is a high threat from terrorism throughout Thailand. Attacks could be indiscriminate and against civilian targets in public places including those places frequented by foreigners.
# On 31 December 2006, eight bombs exploded in various locations in Bangkok, killing three people and injuring at least 36 others including six foreigners. As a result, the Thai authorities have strengthened security in Bangkok. The possibility of further attacks cannot be ruled out. You should exercise caution when travelling within Bangkok.
# On 19 September 2006, there was a coup against the Thai civilian government and martial law was imposed throughout the country. An interim Prime Minister was appointed on 1 October 2006 and on 26 January 2007 martial law was lifted in 41 (of the total of 76) provinces, including Bangkok. There remains a risk of further political instability in Thailand. You are advised to avoid any demonstrations and large crowds.
http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1065714377280
In Bangkok, Governor Apirak Kosayodhin instructed all 50 districts in the metropolitan area to remain alert, saying now is not the time to be complacent.
Apirak ordered all districts to take utmost precaution following last Sunday's incidents, when suspected insurgents launched coordinated arson and bombing attacks on about 50 locations - including soft targets that included karaoke bars, hotels, power stations and rubber factories - in the far South.
.....
But Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said possible insurgent strikes in Bangkok were still a matter of "speculation".
Interior Minister Aree Wongaraya said that although Bangkok should be on the alert for terrorism, he did not anticipate any imminent attacks.
.....
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/24/headlines/headlines_30027778.php
BangkokPundit
24-02-07, 01:11 AM
This from the Canadian Foreign Ministry (http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/report-en.asp?country=290000):
You are advised against non-essential travel to the capital, Bangkok. On December 31, 2006, a series of bombs exploded in the city, killing three and wounding over 30 people. There exists the possibility of further attacks. The Thai Ministry of the Interior issued a security alert for Bangkok on February 23, 2007, due to reports of possible attacks targeting public places such as shopping centres and public transportation. Canadians currently in Bangkok should maintain a high level of personal security awareness at all times, avoid unnecessary travel within the city, monitor local news reports and follow the advice of local authorities.
This is the first time I have read of a specific threat which has prompted a travel advisory update.
Bangkok police on high alert amid terror threats
Police in Bangkok remained on high alert Saturday after three western nations and Japan warned of possible terror attacks in the Thai capital.
"The Metropolitan Police are on full alert. We have maintained our security measures at the maximum level since the bombs on December 31," said Major General Kamol Kaewsuwan, deputy chief of Bangkok Metropolitan police.
Since a wave of bombs on New Year's Eve in downtown Bangkok killed three and injured dozens, including foreign tourists, police have beefed up security at department stores, train stations and Bangkok's new international airport.
The Thai capital was again on fresh alert after Australia, Canada, Britain and Japan warned of possible terror attacks in Bangkok and urged their citizens to stay away from crowded places such as shopping malls and stations.
The foreign warnings came after Thai Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtas said Thursday Islamic separatists from the country's restive Muslim-majority south could slip into the capital and mount attacks here.
But Thai officials said Saturday no new security alert was issued, while the US Embassy in Bangkok left its travel advice on the website unchanged, urging travellers to monitor events and to avoid large public gatherings.
Kamol said police have increased security at more than 1,000 locations including embassies, government buildings, shopping malls, train stations and popular tourist hangouts since the deadly New Year's Eve bombs.
......
The government earlier denied any link between the Bangkok blasts and the southern unrest, insisting the New Year's Eve bombings were the work of factions in the military or police linked to ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a September coup.
But Thai investigators said earlier this month that a suspect in the deadly Bangkok bombings might have links to the southern insurgency.
Agence France-Presse
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/24/headlines/headlines_30027789.php
Makha Bucha is next Saturday, March 3. I believe there will be a Substitution Holiday on Monday, March 5. So any period of heightened threat alert is likely to overrun the usual weekend: -
Capital on alert for Makha Bucha day
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin yesterday inspected security at busy inner-city shopping areas ahead of the approaching Makha Bucha holiday, encouraging the city's 50 districts to do more.
The governor checked out Mah Boonkrong, Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery and Siam Centre shopping centres in the afternoon.
Apirak learned that additional security measures had been taken, including removing refuse containers except at security posts, using bomb-detection dogs and installing closed-circuit-camera surveillance inside and out.
Security guards patrol round the clock.
The operators of the centres in the busy part of town are meeting monthly to evaluate security threats and ensure precautions are up to scratch.
Siam Paragon has installed bomb-detectors for bags.
Meanwhile, city police remain on high alert after Australia, Canada, Britain and Japan warned of possible terror attacks in Bangkok and urged their citizens to stay away from crowded places such as shopping malls and transport centres.
"The Metropolitan Police is on full alert. We've maintained our security measures at maximum levels since the bombs on December 31," its deputy chief Maj-General Kamol Kaewsuwan said.
Since the New Year's Eve bombs killed three and injured dozens, including foreign tourists, police have beefed up security at department stores, train stations and Bangkok's new international airport.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/25/national/national_30027821.php
Featured Frontpage today: http://www.2bangkok.com
Headlines
Komchadleuk, February 28, 2007
The headline reads: Sketches of six suspected Bangkok bombers. These sketches have been distributed to all police stations in Thailand. It is believed that two of the suspects speak Thai with a southern dialect.
PS: 'Dialect' might perhaps be more accurately reworded (above) as 'accent' or 'lilt'.
http://www.2bangkok.com/07/6suspects.jpg
Police have identified three suspects linked to the bomb attacks at two of the nine sites on New Year's Eve acting police chief Seripisut Temiyavej said Monday.
The identities of the three suspects, including one woman, have been obtained after their images taken from security cameras at two bomb sites were enhanced by Canada-based image-processing experts.
A man and a woman are seen in footage taken from security cameras at Seacon Square and another man at the Major Ratchayothin cinema complex.
"We now know who they are and what their names are," he said, adding that all of them were being tracked by police, but he needed more evidence against them before giving an approval for police's request for arrest warrants from the court.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30029103
'Separatists' behind city bombs
Devices made the same way as in South
WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM
The police team investigating the New Year bombings in Bangkok and Nonthaburi has concluded that a southern separatist group was responsible for the nine explosions.
Police are now hunting for a man with a southern Thai accent who bought 300 silicon controlled rectifier (SCR) diodes, used in the assembly of bomb circuits, in Bangkok's Ban Mo area.
A highly-placed source in the investigation team said the insurgent group responsible for the nine bombs wanted to show its capability to launch terrorist attacks outside its home region.
Evidence collected from attack scenes and the detonation circuitry used to assemble the bombs supported the investigators' conclusion, the source said.
"After examining evidence thoroughly, it was found that the bomb detonation circuits are the same [as the circuits used by a southern insurgent group].
Moreover, the materials used to make the bombs are all the same," the source said.
The investigation team is now focusing its investigation on one insurgent group.
The materials used to assemble the nine bombs included metal boxes containing ball bearings and nails, a Casio 200 watch, a nine-volt battery and a small deodorant spray bottle containing gunpowder.
The same materials are used by the southern insurgent group, said the source.
The brand and model of diodes used in the bomb circuits was also the same as the devices the group used to launch attacks in the deep South. They are SCR diodes made by Motorola.
The owner of an electronics shop in Ban Mo told investigators that on Dec 23, one week before the bombings, he sold 300 of the SCR diodes of the same model, together with 300 nine-volt battery terminals of the same type that police collected from the bomb scenes, the source said.
The shop owner said the man who bought them wore a hat and spoke Thai with a southern accent.
Bomb disposal experts told the investigation team that the bombs used in the New Year attacks and terrorist attacks in the deep South were probably assembled by the same person.
Each bomb-maker has his or her own signatory bomb-making style, the source said.
The investigation team will report its findings to the Council for National Security (CNS) soon.
The CNS earlier believed that an "old political power clique" was responsible for the Bangkok bombing.
"Now it's rather clear that it was a southern insurgent group that launched the attacks," the source said.
Assistant national police chief Pol Lt-Gen Phanuphong Singhara na Ayutthaya, who leads the bomb probe, has ordered the investigation team to gather information to identify insurgent groups capable of launching such an attack, another police source said.
Another investigation team, led by assistant police chief Pol Lt-Gen Jongrak Juthanont, has asked the Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for two suspected New Year bombers who appear in video footage from two security cameras, one at the Saphan Khwai intersection and another at Major Cineplex Ratchayothin.
The team will make public the footage of the suspect at Major Cineplex on Wednesday, to seek more information from the public.
The team has already publicised footage of the male suspect at the Saphan Khwai intersection and received more than 300 tips from the public.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/19Mar2007_news03.php
One of 2 new Bangkok bombing suspects deny charges
One of two new suspects in the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok came out to deny charges late Thursday night.
The suspect, Pratya Preechavej, 33, came to the news room of Kom Chad Luek to deny charges.
Pratya came to seek help from the newspaper after seeing his paper published by afternoon edition of several Thai-language newspapers.
Pratya said he owns a foods shop in front of Seacon Square and that day he and his sister and a friend went to the shopping mall to see movie and walked past in front of a gold shop in the mall.
Police have released pictures of two men suspected of being the one to drop a bomb into a garbage bin in front of the gold shop.
Pratya told Kom Chad Luek that he was not a southern resident as claimed by police.
Pratya later called police to offer to prove his innocence. Pratya asked a Kom Chad Luek reporter to come along when police took him to questioning.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30030051
:confused: The first report looks fairly straight forward, but if you go on to read the second report - about the circumstances surrounding the two men's attempts to get the warrants revoked - you will still be no wiser as to whether they have been arrested for suspected involvement in bombings or not. The last line- in the second report - is a classic piece of local journalistic gobbledygook. Interpretation please!?:
Two Suspects in Bangkok's Bomb Attack Arrested
Police arrested Wednesday two men for allegedly planting bomb at the Bangkok's Seacon Square shopping complex on New Year's Eve.
The suspects, who look like suspects in police-released photos, earlier this week asked the court to revoke arrest warrants for them. The court rejected their request.
Pratya Preechavej and Yutthaphong Kittisriworraphan were now charged with terrorism, attempted murder, endangering the public, criminally causing property damage and a firearms-related offence. If convicted, they may face death sentence.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30030494
Court drops complaint to cancel arrest warrants
The Criminal Court dropped on Wednesday a complaint by two men who are calling for their arrest warrants in connection to the New Year's eve be revoked.
The Court said police have authority to issue the warrants as their investigation into the fatal attack are still in progress.
After a two-hourt court hearing, both Pratya Preechavej and Yutthaphong Kittisriworraphan were escorted to Prawet police station for question for their suspected involvement in the bomb attacks at a department store.
Police have released video footage showing two suspects walking in the department store on December 31. Police also issued arrest warrants against the two men. Pratya and Yutthapphong claimed they were two men in the video footage but they were not the bombers.
They then lodged their complaint to the court on Tuesday to have arrest warrants revoked.
In the hearing, Pol Maj Gen Jate Mongkholhatthee, a senior investigator, said police had verified video footage taken from security cameras at the complex to support police's theory that the two suspects really carried out the attack.
The two men only looked similar to the suspects, but not the same persons.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/28/headlines/headlines_30030481.php
Police photo pair face charges of terrorism
Two men who resemble two suspected bombers in police photographs were yesterday charged with five criminal offences, including terrorism, which is punishable by death.
They were charged shortly after a court rejected their attempt to have arrest warrants against them revoked.
Apart from terrorism, Pratya Preechavej and Yutthaphong Kittisriworraphan have been charged with attempted murder, endangering the public, criminally causing property damage and possessing explosives without permission.
The Bangkok South Criminal Court said that revoking the warrants prior to completion of the police's investigation would be a cross-agency professional interference and violate judicial regulations.
Chief Justice Suebphong Sriphongkul said the court would have ruled out the entire case and violated both the police's and public prosecutors' professional credentials if it revoked the warrants at the request of the complainants.
"The court cannot presently hear both complainants' protest of innocence because it would be an interference into the police's and public prosecutors' work if it does so," he continued.
"The court's jurisdiction over the issue and prior procedures and authorities mandated to the police and public prosecutors are currently still in different channels."
At press time last night, both Pratya, 38, and Yutthaphong, 36, were in police custody for questioning at Prawet police station, whose jurisdiction covers the Seacon Square shopping complex in Suan Luang district where a bomb attack took place on New Year's Eve. They have been offered bail of Bt200,000 each.
Maj-General Jate Mongkholhatthee, a senior investigator in the case, said the arrests and charges were not retaliatory acts by police in response to the men's complaint to the court. They were in line with the police's duty, supported by evidence against both men.
He said police investigators would face charges of negligence of duty if they failed to proceed further upon hearing the court's decision to drop the complaint.
Pratya said he respected the court's decision and did not blame anyone, including police officers. He still believed in the justice system as a whole, although he was feeling very bad and stressed out, while he still maintained his innocence.
Yutthaphong did not make any public statement.
Kesinee Taengkhiew, The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/29/headlines/headlines_30030532.php
Metropolitan Police Chief Adisorn Nonsi said Tuesday police has received a warning from the army that insurgents may come to stage violent activities in Bangkok.
Pol Lt-Gen Adisorn said that the warning does not pinpoint areas prone to the insurgents' acts, and said there is nothing to panick as warning like this comes occasionally.
"It's a warning. It doesn't mean that it will happen every time there is a warning," he said. "But we take precautions by informing relevant agencies to step up security in the capital."
Since the warning, police have increased forces in patrolling around the capital -- on foot and motorcycle -- and at important locations, he said.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=120041
Security in Bangkok tightened after alerts
(BangkokPost.com) - Security in Bangkok has been tightened following warnings by the First Army Region that insurgents may stage major attacks in the capital, Bangkok governor Apirak Kosayodhin said Wednesday.
Mr Apirak said he has alerted all 50 district chiefs in Bangkok about the issue and urged them to closely monitor any suspicious movement in their areas.
He added that security checkpoints have been increased in crowded locations, including shopping malls, skytrain and subway stations.
He also urged people in Bangkok to inform authorities of unusual movements and told them not to panic, as the situation is under control.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=120076
One soldier, one police injured in Bangkok explosion
A military bomb disposal officer and his police counterpart were injured when a bomb they tried to defuse exploded outside the Royal Thai Survey Department Sunday night.
Channel 7 reported that the two bomb disposal officers were injured when checking a bomb-like object spotted at the fence of the Royal Survey Department near the army headquarters.
The explosion occurred at 9 pm.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30050791
Bomb explodes near Army headquarters
A bomb went off near the Army headquarters off Rajdamneon Avenue Sunday night, causing injuries to two ordnance disposal officers on scene.
The explosives, of unknown kind, was in a black cardboard box placed at the mouth of a small soi between the Army headquarters and the Army's Survey Department.
The box was spotted at around 6 pm by bystanders at the Rajdamneon Boxing Stadium across from the Army headquarters.
There is no initial comment available from police about the motive of the explosion.
One of the bomb disposal officer lost his thumb and the other injured not seriously.
The bomb site has not yet been sealed off and there are barricades erected around it. Sniffer dogs have been used to detect more possible explosives at the scene and nearby areas and none has been found.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/30/national/national_30050792.php
Could it be in the least bit connected with an earlier development today? A report that Gen. Sonthi is about to be made the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security issues:
http://207.5.19.33/forum/showthread.php?goto=newpost&t=2799
First post:
http://207.5.19.33/forum/showpost.php?p=17441&postcount=1
mdechgan
30-09-07, 10:52 PM
Any ideas who bombed it?
Was anyone ever implicated for the new year's bombings?
Southern militia? Thaksin supporters?
They both hate the army.
For Google Earth users:
http://www.2bangkok.com/07/Thai%20Army%20HQ.kmz
Note that it is Ratchadamnoen Nok Road rather than Ratchadamnoen Avenue. The scale of this map scan is approximately 1 Cm. = 25 M.
The Ratchadamnoen Boxing Stadium is marked with a labelled red dot, opposite the entrance to a soi marked as Soi Khlang Bor Kor Thap Bok - literally 'Army HQ Middle Soi'. Note the RTSD Survey School off that soi.
http://i22.tinypic.com/2qtybtv.jpg
For Google Earth users:
http://www.2bangkok.com/07/Thai%20Army%20HQ.kmz
Blast near Army HQ injures two
Published on October 1, 2007
A bomb exploded near Army headquarters off Rajdamnoen Avenue last night injuring two ordnance-disposal officers.
The nature of the device was unknown late last night but had been detected about 6pm in a black cardboard box placed at the mouth of a small soi between Army headquarters and the Army Survey Department.
It was spotted by passers-by attending the Rajdamnoen Boxing Stadium across the road from the headquarters.
There was no indication from police at press time as to the motive of the explosion.
One bomb-disposal officer lost a thumb and the other received minor injuries.
The site was barricaded and sniffer dogs deployed to check for more explosives. None were found.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/10/01/national/national_30050826.php
For Google Earth users:
http://www.2bangkok.com/07/Thai%20Army%20HQ.kmz
Bomb explodes in Bangkok
(BangkokPost.com)
A bomb exploded next to the Army Survey Department's fence off Rajdamnoen Avenue Sunday night, causing injuries to two ordnance disposal officers at the scene.
The explosives was in a black cardboard box placed at a phone booth in front of a small soi between the Army headquarters and the Army's Survey Department.
The box was spotted by bystanders at the Rajdamneon Boxing Stadium across the Army headquarters and after the explosion, another box was found 50 metres away from the first one.
After being informed, the bomb disposal unit rushed to the scene at around 9pm. But while inspecting the box, the bomb went off.
One of the bomb disposal officer lost his thumb and the other injured not seriously and were sent to Hua-Chew hospital.
The site has not yet been sealed off, just barricades erected around it.
Sniffer dogs have been used to detect more bombs at the scene and nearby areas.
So far, there is no initial comment available from police and the army about the motive of the explosion.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=122201
mdechgan
01-10-07, 03:42 AM
According to local news reports the officer lost his right arm, not thumb.
I note this report says "seriously damaged the wrist", which is worse than originally reported;
The explosion seriously damaged the right wrist of a bomb disposal officer and injured another in the chest but not seriously. Both were sent to Hua Chiew hospital.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=122201
Possibly related thread. Was last night's bomb attack some kind of reaction or threat to General Sonthi's almost certain inclusion in the interim government?:
http://207.5.19.33/forum/showthread.php?p=17457#post17457
Note the distinct lack of concern for the man who got his thumb/wrist/arm blown off. Not even to mention the other injured man. (I was watching a TITV Sarayud interview with Khun Noppadol on Saturday night. Noppadol is the bomb disposal man who had a double amputation after stepping on a bomb a few months back.):
01 October 2007
Police chief says explosive materials used in bomb blast last night are similar to recent bombing
The Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General, Pol. Gen. Seripisuth Temiyavej (เสรีพิศุทธ์ เตมียาเวส), says the explosive materials used in the bombing near the Royal Thai Army Headquarters last night are similar to the ones used in another bombing incident in Bangkok.
Pol. Gen. Seripisuth says the police will have to wait for clear evidences and witnesses before determining whether the blast was triggered by the same group. However, he admits that some police officials are still working carelessly following the bombing, but he believes the explosion is unrelated to politics or the southern insurgency.
Pol. Gen. Seripisuth has reminded Pol. Lt. Gen. Assawin Kwanmuang, the Metropolitan Police Commander, to investigate the case comprehensively.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter01
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255010010013
01 October 2007
CNS steps up security following bombing last night
The Council for National Security (CNS) steps up security measures at risky areas in Bangkok with roadblocks to prevent ill-intentioned people from traveling to the capital.
CNS increases security in Bangkok due to bombing last night near the Army Headquarters, injuring two police officers.
In addition, the army dispatches more officials to safeguard the residence of the army chief at Sethasiri (เศรษฐศิริ) Road. A roadblock has been set up since last night in front of the Military Circle 11 to inspect cars and motorcycles.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter05
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255010010004
Gen Sonthi links new and old bombings
(Bangkokpost.com) – Investigators have yet to find out who was responsible for placing a bomb outside the Army Survey Department’s fences off Rajdamnoen Avenue on Sunday night, but Council for National Security chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said it was likely by the same group responsible for bombing a phone booth in Soi Rachawithi Soi 24 last May.
Gen Sonthi, who officially retired as army chief on Sunday but will still keep his position as chairman of the CNS until it is dissolved, brushed off rumours that last night’s attack was sparked by those dissatisfied with his becoming the deputy prime minister supervising security affairs.
“If that were the case, I think they would have struck before I agreed to accept the post,” he explained.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=122210
The last two paragraphs look like so much flim-flam. Although Sonthi has been expected to enter politics in some form for quite a while, yesterday's (still unconfirmed report) of his possibly assuming the deputy PM and Interior Minister posts was still pretty much sprung on an unexpecting public. It might well have also false-footed his enemies, who then had to adapt their 'preventative' mission into a reactive one. Some hope of preventing him from taking up the post anyway. And not much chance he will be phased by this attack either. But when have such minor considerations of logic ever stopped the political factions and their bombers here?
Added to which, the public has never been allowed to know the cause of the 'old bomb'. Indeed, one wonders whether Gen. Sonthi has managed to figure out the 'old bomb' yet. In which case, does he really have any more idea about the 'new bomb' than the rest of us.
Normally I would separate yesterday's bomb in Bangkok and this morning bomb wave down south. I suspect there is a connection, however:
Coordinated bombings rock the South
Pattani - A string of 13 bomb explosions Monday morning in the troubled deep South injured at least nine people, including one Buddhist monk, a military source said.
The first batch of five bombs went off about 7 am local time in the morning market of Rangae town, Narathiwat province, 790 kilometres south of Bangkok, injuring a monk on his alms-gathering rounds and two soldiers guarding him, said regional army spokesman Colonel Akara Thiprote.
Five villagers were also injured in the first attack.
Another four bombs were detonated in Rangae at 8:10 am, injuring one person.
Rangue is classified as a "red zone" by Thai authorities, because of the close collaboration between separatists and the town's inhabitants.
Meanwhile, two more bombs went off in Waeng, and one each in Sisakorn and Sungai Padi, all in Narathiwat, leaving two people injured.
They were the latest of more than 6,000 violent incidents reported over the past three and a half years in Thailand's troubled deep South, the majority-Muslim region comprising Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala provinces and parts of Songkhla.
According to army data, some 2,500 people have died from the violence since January 1, 2004. (dpa)
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=122213
Having jumped to the hasty conclusion that it might be connected to Gen. Sonthi's probable Deputy PMship and possible Interior Ministership, I suppose we also shouldn't lose sight of the notion that it could also be related to Gen. Anuphong's becoming the new Army C-in-C:
Any ideas who bombed it?
Was anyone ever implicated for the new year's bombings?
Southern militia? Thaksin supporters?
They both hate the army.
Having jumped to the hasty conclusion that it might be connected to Gen. Sonthi's probable Deputy PMship and possible Interior Ministership, I suppose we also shouldn't lose sight of the notion that it could also be related to Gen. Anuphong's becoming the new Army C-in-C:
Here's another possibility. We have seen several ministers resign in recent days over their private shareholdings. Now, I have no doubt that these ministers were not entirely honest in claiming they were unaware of the regulations. But I also suppose that they deserve some credit for eventually falling on their swords.
[Related news report on 5 ministerial resignations and the pressure it is putting the PM under: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/10/02/headlines/headlines_30050972.php]
[Gen. Sonthi is obviously extremely miffed with Admiral Bannawit over his role in encouraging the mass ministerial resignations:
http://207.5.19.33/forum/showpost.php?p=17478&postcount=6]
There has obviously been some sort of political push on, to effect these resignations. And as with almost every political push here, there are those who have relatively honest intentions and those who have less noble intent. There are undoubtedly those who would like to destroy this government before the election. It is possible that both forced resignations and "instability" are part of the recipe that 'some' are willing to resort to.
Such underhandedness would be no new departure for the political classes here, as many of them have probably used such tactics in the past. (And there are possibly still those down south who would have no compunction about working for the old enemy if it sowed further discontent and brought in more money to buy weapons.)
Something similar might also explain the New Year's bombings.
According to local news reports the officer lost his right arm, not thumb.
MCOT's midnight English language news says that the bomb disposal officer's wrist was completely severed. I have yet to see the officer's name. And no one mentioned whether reattachment was possible. I doubt it somehow. Poor man! Our sympathy should go with him. Another innocent victim of this crass political system!
They also aired an interview with General Anuphong Paochinda, the new RTA C-in-C, who was asked if he thought that the army reshuffle was a factor in the bombing. Difficult to be sure with translated brief segment of the interview, but he noticeably talked about how such behavior by government employees was unacceptable. In other words, he wasn't completely discounting it.
I suppose this event is yet another possible motive for the bomb being planted. The chosen site for the bomb at RTA HQ would seem to rule this out, but the bombing could remind people that the police have yet to make any progress in the case of the New Year's bombings. This could cause rifts between Gen. Seripisuth, the government and the CNS:
Pol. Gen. Seripisuth attended ceremony after official appointment as national police chief
The Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General, Pol. Gen. Seripisuth Temiyavej (เสรีพิศุทธ์ เตมียาเวส), paid respect to the King Rama IX Monument and attended the ceremony at the Royal Thai Police after being officially appointed as the national police chief this morning (October 1st).
During the ceremony, Pol. Gen. Seripisuth delivered a speech to the high-ranking police officials. He told them that their next duty is to develop their families and policemen into good individuals. In addition, they have to work at their utmost while saving their expenses and improving the operation within the Royal Thai Police so public members can depend on them.
Pol. Gen. Seripisuth also asked all police officials to work together harmoniously. He said legal actions between commanders and their subordinates should not take place in the future.
Reporter : RTI-Reporter03
http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255010010027
http://www.bangkokpost.com/021007_front.jpg
[Photo:http://www.bangkokpost.com/]
New army chief Gen Anupong Paochinda visits Pol Snr Sgt-Maj Jiradej Attapong, a member of a bomb disposal squad who was injured by an explosion near the army headquarters on Sunday night. — CHANAT KATANYU
Last night's MCOT's midnight English language news said that the bomb disposal officer's wrist was completely severed. It wasn't mentioned whether any form of reattachment was attempted. I doubt it somehow.
No word on the other less injured officer, however.
MCOT's midnight English language news says that the bomb disposal officer's wrist was completely severed. ........... Another innocent victim of this crass political system!
They also aired an interview with General Anuphong Paochinda, the new RTA C-in-C, who was asked if he thought that the army reshuffle was a factor in the bombing. Difficult to be sure with translated brief segment of the interview, but he noticeably talked about how such behavior by government employees was unacceptable. In other words, he wasn't completely discounting it.
With the above in mind, it might be worth taking a peek at this link, and noting that certain military factions are obviously at odds with at least one of the resigned ministers:
http://207.5.19.33/forum/showpost.php?p=17491&postcount=43
Royals send gifts to police officers wounded by bomb
Published on October 3, 2007
Their Majesties the King and the Queen sent gift baskets yesterday to two police officers injured while trying to defuse a bomb near the Royal Thai Army headquarters on Sunday night.
Police Senior Sergeant Major Jeeradej Attaphong lost a hand in the incident, and is in hospital, along with Police Corporal Pichayatorn Sunthornchuen.
Their Majesties had General Niphon Parannit visit the officers and tell them how much their commitment to duty was appreciated and that they were concerned about their welfare.
"I am so proud to receive gifts from Their Majesties. I am overwhelmingly grateful," Pichayatorn said.
Speaking on her son's behalf, Banyen Attaphong said she and her family were grateful for Their Majesties' support.
Earlier in the day, Jeeradej also received flowers from HRH Princess Somsavali.
Representing the princess, Major General Preecha Boonamphon told Jeeradej the princess wished him a speedy recovery, before he spoke to Banyen about her son's condition.
As of yesterday, Jeeradej was still in intensive care at Vajira Hospital.
Hospital director Dr Manit Sripramoj said Jeeradej was improving, but was worried about his lost hand.
"Psychiatrists will talk to him next week," he said.
Manit added that doctors were also closely monitoring Jeeradej's lung functions, as his lungs had been seriously affected by the explosion's impact.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lt General Asawin Kwanmuang said his agency was preparing to propose a plan to have both Jeeradej and Pichayathorn promoted. The Metropolitan Police Bureau has also raised Bt210,000 in donations for the men. Asawin said there would be a meeting to follow up on the progress today.
National Police Commissioner General Seripisut Temiyavej declined to comment on whether the explosion was politically motivated. " We need time to investigate the case," he said.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/10/03/national/national_30051125.php
Police have sketch of suspect behind army HQ blast
(BangkokPost.com) - Metropolitan police have the sketch of a man believed to have planted a bomb near the army headquarters on Sunday night that left two bomb disposal policemen injured.
The suspect is around 30 years old, with the height of 165 to 170 centimetres. He has square face, tan skin and short hair.
Police said he was wearing a dark round-neck t-shirt and dark pants that night.
Deputy commander of Metropolitan Police Maj-Gen Krissada Phankhongcheun said the man is believed to be the last person entering the phone booth where the explosive was placed, adding that officials are waiting to see whether there is any footage from closed-circuit televisions nearby.
Police still need more information before they ask the court for the arrest warrant for the suspect.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=122281
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=122281
Man resembling bomb suspect surrenders
(BangkokPost.com) - A sergeant who resembles a sketch of a man suspected to have planted a bomb that exploded outside the army headquarters on Sunday reported to police on Wednesday night.
The sergeant surrendered to show his innocence after police districted the sketch of suspected bomber. The suspect is in his early 30s, 165-170 cm tall, with a square-shaped face and tanned complexion and military-style short, chopped hair.
After interrogation, police found that the sergeant has nothing to do with the blast so they released the man.
Meanwhile, Pol Lt-Gen Assawin Kwanmuang urged public to be patient with the investigation on this case, saying that police are checking thoroughly whether the blast is similar to those used in the southern unrest.
He also denied reports that a general whose name begins with letter ''P'' is behind the blast, saying that police are verifying the source of the reports.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=122315
Related thread on another General P who fell under major suspicion a few months back:
http://207.5.19.33/forum/showpost.php?p=10845&postcount=7
Top police 'at fault'
Published on January 8, 2008
The National Human Rights Commission yesterday ruled that police were culpable in wrongly implicating two businessmen as bombers responsible for an explosion at Seacon Square shopping complex on New Year's Eve in 2006.
Welcoming the decision, Pratya Preechavej said later that he would hold the Royal Thai Police and certain senior investigators criminally responsible for their actions and would file a civil lawsuit demanding Bt50 million in damages in return for his rights being violated.
The NHRC said the police decision to still take further criminal action against the two men, who surrendered themselves to police, without sufficient evidence was a "stark violation against justice and human rights".
The NHRC did not say how the police action was a criminal liability or how the police would exactly compensate for their actions against the two men.
A few months after the bombing, pictures of Pratya and his friend Yutthaphong Kittisriworraphan were put on a wanted poster indicating they planted a bomb in a waste bin in the shopping complex in Bangkok's Prawet district. Police relied solely on footage from security cameras showing the two men walking around the area as their only evidence that they were the bombers.
Inspecting police investigation reports and the evidence, the joint 10-member NHRC panel found police had no sufficient evidence the men had anything to do with the explosion at the Seacon Square.
"Putting the pictures of both men on a wanted poster in the first place is already a violation of rights on their freedom, reputation and privacy, as well as those belonging to their family members," the NHRC statement said.
Even after both men turned themselves in, police declined to invalidate their arrest warrants and later pressed five serious charges against them. Pratya and Yutthaphong were held for one night in police custody at Prawet Police Station before they were released on bail at Bt100,000 each.
Pratya said he would also seek to have the indictment against him and his friend revoked, as it was still valid and legally viable against them in the public prosecution's process. "I will take my action once the 15-day mourning period for the late Princess Galyani Vadhana is over on January 17," he added.
The man said his newly opened restaurant was forced to close down because of losses resulting from customers who shunned the place, and a musical website he was running had been operating at loss because musicians turned away from him after learning of the wanted poster.
Head investigator Pol Maj-General Jate Mongkholhatthee said he "felt no worries" over the NHRC decision and that the men "could do whatever they wanted to".
"Police had been acting on the evidence available," he added.
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/01/08/headlines/headlines_30061505.php
It's OK to reopen the Saudi Jewels case, which everyone knows will never be solved. (Just a ploy to ease relations with Saudi Arabia.) But it is almost certainly convenient for someone in a high position to close this case. (I have NO idea exactly who either.) Public Interest Last!:
Investigation bombs
Bangkok Post Reporters
Police have decided to discontinue the year-long investigation into the deadly Bangkok bomb attacks on New Year's Eve of 2006, saying they have no clues as to who was behind the bombings.
The one-million-baht cash reward for information leading to the arrest of the bombers has also been cancelled, said Thani Somboonsap, the deputy national police chief.
He said investigators had struggled and worked on the case for as long as they could. They now agreed the investigation had reached the end of the line, he said.
"More than one year has passed. The investigators have agreed to call off the probe as they have been unable to find any offenders," said Pol Gen Thani.
He added that the investigators will submit a report informing the prosecution of their intention to stop proceeding with the case.
However, he said the case could be reopened in the future if and when new pieces of evidence emerge.
He added that the prosecution decided last Thursday to drop charges against Pradya Prichavej, 33, and Yutapong Kitisriworapan, 32, due to flimsy evidence. The two were earlier thought to be suspects in the bomb blast at Seacon Square, one of the nine locations bombed in Bangkok and Nonthaburi.
Eight bombs hit Bangkok and another one exploded in Nonthaburi on the night of Dec 31, 2006, and the early hours of Jan 1, killing three people and injuring 42.
In Bangkok, the explosions occurred at a bus stop near the Victory Monument, in a rubbish bin at the main market in Klong Toey, at traffic police booths in Saphan Khwai and at Sukhumvit Soi 62 and in the parking lot at the Seacon Square department store on Srinakarin road and the Major Cineplex Ratchayothin in the Phahon Yothin area.
In Nonthaburi, a bomb blew up a police booth at the Khae Rai intersection.
However, Pol Gen Thani said investigators will continue with their probe into three other bombings that occurred after the nine explosions.
A low-powered bomb exploded in a phone booth on the night of April 9 last year at the Major Cineplex Ratchayothin, the same site as one of the Dec 31 bombings.
On May 5, another bomb went off in a public telephone booth on Soi Ratchawithi 24, followed by an explosion near a telephone booth outside the Survey School of the Royal Thai Survey Department near the army headquarters on Ratchadamnoen avenue on Sept 30.
Pol Gen Thani said he believed the same group of bombers were involved in the three latest bombings.
Police were waiting for the results of lab tests on bomb shrapnel from the three bombing incidents, which is being conducted in Australia.
Former suspect Mr Pradya said he will not withdraw his 50-million-baht lawsuit against the Royal Thai Police Office.
He said it was obvious that he was made a scapegoat.
"I had to move to other provinces after I had sued the police. I'm afraid to live in Bangkok. I don't know what trouble I will face," he said.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=126657